Untethered micro-robotic coding of three-dimensional material composition

S. Tasoglu, E. Diller, S. Guven, M. Sitti () and U. Demirci ()
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S. Tasoglu: Bio-Acoustic MEMS in Medicine (BAMM) Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
E. Diller: Carnegie Mellon University
S. Guven: Bio-Acoustic MEMS in Medicine (BAMM) Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
M. Sitti: Carnegie Mellon University
U. Demirci: Bio-Acoustic MEMS in Medicine (BAMM) Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Complex functional materials with three-dimensional micro- or nano-scale dynamic compositional features are prevalent in nature. However, the generation of three-dimensional functional materials composed of both soft and rigid microstructures, each programmed by shape and composition, is still an unsolved challenge. Here we describe a method to code complex materials in three-dimensions with tunable structural, morphological and chemical features using an untethered magnetic micro-robot remotely controlled by magnetic fields. This strategy allows the micro-robot to be introduced to arbitrary microfluidic environments for remote two- and three-dimensional manipulation. We demonstrate the coding of soft hydrogels, rigid copper bars, polystyrene beads and silicon chiplets into three-dimensional heterogeneous structures. We also use coded microstructures for bottom-up tissue engineering by generating cell-encapsulating constructs.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4124

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