A self-propelled biohybrid swimmer at low Reynolds number

作者：Williams, Brian J.; Anand, Sandeep V.; Rajagopalan, Jagannathan; Saif, M. Taher A.^*

来源：Nature Communications, 2014, 5(1): 3081.

DOI：10.1038/ncomms4081

• DRIVEN MICROFILAMENTS
• FLAGELLA
• PROPULSION
• MECHANICS
• FILAMENTS
• DYNAMICS
• CILIA

Many microorganisms, including spermatozoa and forms of bacteria, oscillate or twist a hair-like flagella to swim. At this small scale, where locomotion is challenged by large viscous drag, organisms must generate time-irreversible deformations of their flagella to produce thrust. To date, there is no demonstration of a self propelled, synthetic flagellar swimmer operating at low Reynolds number. Here we report a microscale, biohybrid swimmer enabled by a unique fabrication process and a supporting slender-body hydrodynamics model. The swimmer consists of a polydimethylsiloxane filament with a short, rigid head and a long, slender tail on which cardiomyocytes are selectively cultured. The cardiomyocytes contract and deform the filament to propel the swimmer at 5-10 mu m s(-1), consistent with model predictions. We then demonstrate a two-tailed swimmer swimming at 81 mu m s(-1). This small-scale, elementary biohybrid swimmer can serve as a platform for more complex biological machines.

• 出版日期2014-1