title: Polydimethylsiloxane films doped with NdFeB powder: magnetic characterization and potential applications in biomedical engineering and microrobotics.
abstract: This work reports the fabrication, magnetic characterization and controlled navigation of film-shaped microrobots consisting of a polydimethylsiloxane-NdFeB powder composite material. The fabrication process relies on spin-coating deposition, powder orientation and permanent magnetization. Films with different powder concentrations (10 %, 30 %, 50 % and 70 % w/w) were fabricated and characterized in terms of magnetic properties and magnetic navigation performances (by exploiting an electromagnet-based platform). Standardized data are provided, thus enabling the exploitation of these composite materials in a wide range of applications, from MEMS/microrobot development to biomedical systems. Finally, the possibility to microfabricate free-standing polymeric structures and the biocompatibility of the proposed composite materials is demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale R. Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Iacovacci
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale R. Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lucarini
authors.affiliation: INSTM-LaMM c/o Dip.Chimica, Università di Firenze, via della Lastruccia 3-13, 50019, Sesto F.no, FI, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Innocenti
authors.affiliation: IENI, CNR, corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Comisso
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale R. Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dario
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale R. Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy. l.ricotti@sssup.it.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricotti
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale R. Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menciassi
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D059346:Magnets / Q000737:chemistry; D055616:Microtechnology
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; C013830:baysilon
keywords: Cell manipulation; Custom magnets; Lab-on-a-chip; Magnetic characterization; Magnetic thin films; Microrobotics; NdFeB powder; Polymeric composite materials