Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma 'Sapienza', Roma I-00185, Italy.
NANOTEC-CNR, Institute of Nanotechnology, Soft and Living Matter Laboratory, Roma I-00185, Italy.
Nat Commun. 2017 Jun 28;8:15974. doi: 10.1038/ncomms15974.
Self-propelled bacteria can be integrated into synthetic micromachines and act as biological propellers. So far, proposed designs suffer from low reproducibility, large noise levels or lack of tunability. Here we demonstrate that fast, reliable and tunable bio-hybrid micromotors can be obtained by the self-assembly of synthetic structures with genetically engineered biological propellers. The synthetic components consist of 3D interconnected structures having a rotating unit that can capture individual bacteria into an array of microchambers so that cells contribute maximally to the applied torque. Bacterial cells are smooth swimmers expressing a light-driven proton pump that allows to optically control their swimming speed. Using a spatial light modulator, we can address individual motors with tunable light intensities allowing the dynamic control of their rotational speeds. Applying a real-time feedback control loop, we can also command a set of micromotors to rotate in unison with a prescribed angular speed.
自推进细菌可以整合到合成微机器中，并充当生物推进器。到目前为止，提出的设计存在可重复性低、噪声水平大或缺乏可调性等问题。在这里，我们证明通过将经过基因工程改造的生物推进器与合成结构进行自组装，可以获得快速、可靠且可调的生物混合微马达。合成部件由具有旋转单元的 3D 互连结构组成，该旋转单元可以将单个细菌捕获到微室阵列中，从而使细胞最大限度地为施加的扭矩做出贡献。细菌细胞是光滑的游泳者，表达光驱动的质子泵，使其可以通过光学控制它们的游泳速度。使用空间光调制器，我们可以用可调的光强度来寻址单个马达，从而可以动态控制它们的旋转速度。通过应用实时反馈控制回路，我们还可以命令一组微马达以预定角速度同步旋转。
