Over the past decade, a new scientific discipline has emerged, integrating mechanics with biology to create complex engineered living systems. The building blocks – different cell types in an instructive environment – can be assembled in various ways to promote the emergence (or natural evolution and interaction) of the cells in a system with well-defined functionality. These functions could include sensing, information processing, protein expression, and actuation, among countless others.This Thesis presents a novel cellular system capable of actuation and fabricated using cells and hydrogels. A stereolithographic 3D printing technique (SLA) was used to create a hydrogel backbone made of a beam connecting two pillars that supports a muscle strip created from skeletal muscle cells in a fibrin-based matrix. The entire device is termed a “bio-bot,” or biological robot. Contraction of the cells within the muscle strip produced enough force to move the pillars and displace the bio-bot on a surface in a liquid medium. This Thesis is focused on the development and characterization (mechanical and biological) of the skeletal muscle-based biological actuator.The use of the SLA allowed for easy modifications of the polymerized part’s geometry and material properties. Increasing the energy dose of polymerization produced a stiffer beam that restricted bending and increased the passive tension in the muscle strip. 15-19 days after cell seeding, the bio-bots displayed spontaneous contraction that resulted in a net displacement of up to ~6 mm in 10 minutes. During this time span, a maximum velocity of over 1890 μm/min was achieved. Future plans are focused on controlling the activity of the bio-bot using optogenetics.
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The development of a skeletal muscle bio-actuator using 3-D stereolithography
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