The first programmable microrobots with light have been developed: they are biohybrid, because they move thanks to ‘tails’ (flagella) of bacterial origin, and in the future they could be used in the biomedical and diagnostic fields to organize and transport single cells in test tubes. The result is published in the Advanced Functional Materials journal by researchers from the Physics Department of the Sapienza University of Rome.
The study demonstrates the possibility of creating biohybrid robots and programming their movement using structured light. From the combination of experiments and mathematical models it has emerged that these microrobots can take advantage of the swimming of bacteria to move and that their movement can be controlled remotely thanks to specific proteins that act like nano solar panels.
“Our microrobots – explains Nicola Pellicciotta of Sapienza University – resemble microscopic tanks, which instead of tracks have two propulsive units powered by the rotation of bacterial scourges. The speed of rotation can be controlled by light thanks to genetic modifications. In this way we were able to control the direction of movement of these microbots by illuminating the two propulsion units with light of different intensities”.
“Like in the Amazon warehouses – adds Roberto Di Leonardo of Sapienza University – hundreds of these microrobots could one day navigate inside a micro-deposit where the items to be organized and distributed are the single cells in a biological sample”.
The research paves the way for the possibility of using microbots in miniaturized biomedical laboratories and in particular in the tasks of organizing and transporting single cells in vitro.
Source: Ansa
I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
