title: Optical assembly of bio-hybrid micro-robots.
abstract: The combination of micro synthetic structures with bacterial flagella motors represents an actual trend for the construction of self-propelled micro-robots. The development of methods for fabrication of these bacteria-based robots is a first crucial step towards the realization of functional miniature and autonomous moving robots. We present a novel scheme based on optical trapping to fabricate living micro-robots. By using holographic optical tweezers that allow three-dimensional manipulation in real time, we are able to arrange the building blocks that constitute the micro-robot in a defined way. We demonstrate exemplarily that our method enables the controlled assembly of living micro-robots consisting of a rod-shaped prokaryotic bacterium and a single elongated zeolite L crystal, which are used as model of the biological and abiotic components, respectively. We present different proof-of-principle approaches for the site-selective attachment of the bacteria on the particle surface. The propulsion of the optically assembled micro-robot demonstrates the potential of the proposed method as a powerful strategy for the fabrication of bio-hybrid micro-robots.
authors: Institute of Applied Physics, Westfälische Wilhems Universität, Correnstrasse 2-4, 48149, Muenster, Germany, alvaro.barroso@uni-muenster.de.
authors: Álvaro
authors: Á
authors: Barroso
authors: Shirin
authors: S
authors: Landwerth
authors: Mike
authors: M
authors: Woerdemann
authors: Christina
authors: C
authors: Alpmann
authors: Tim
authors: T
authors: Buscher
authors: Maike
authors: M
authors: Becker
authors: Armido
authors: A
authors: Studer
authors: Cornelia
authors: C
authors: Denz
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis; D004867:Equipment Design; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D017641:Zeolites / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D017641:Zeolites