Magnetic Nanoparticles-Loaded Physarum polycephalum: Directed Growth and Particles Distribution.
Slime mold Physarum polycephalum is a single cell visible by an unaided eye. The slime mold optimizes its network of protoplasmic tubes to minimize expose to repellents and maximize expose to attractants and to make efficient transportation of nutrients. These properties of P. polycephalum, together with simplicity of its handling and culturing, make it a priceless substrate for designing novel sensing, computing and actuating architectures in living amorphous biological substrate. We demonstrate that, by loading Physarum with magnetic particles and positioning it in a magnetic field, we can, in principle, impose analog control procedures to precisely route active growing zones of slime mold and shape topology of its protoplasmic networks.
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy. alice.dimonte@gmail.com.
Alice
A
Dimonte
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.|Department of Physics and Earth Science, University of Parma, Viale Usberti 7A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Angelica
A
Cifarelli
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Tatiana
T
Berzina
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Valentina
V
Chiesi
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Patrizia
P
Ferro
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Tullo
T
Besagni
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Franca
F
Albertini
Unconventional Computing Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
Andrew
A
Adamatzky
National Council of the Researches - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (CNR-IMEM), Parco Area delle Scienze 37A, 43124, Parma, Italy.
Victor
V
Erokhin
D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D016839:Physarum polycephalum / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*
D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles
Analog control; Magnetic particles; Network; Physarum polycephalum; Unconventional computing