Microrobotic Bioengineering Lab (MRBL), School of Computation Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Piloty-Straße 1, 85748, Garching, Germany.
Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence, Technical University of Munich, Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60, 80992, Munich, Germany.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2023 Oct;12(26):e2300904. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202300904. Epub 2023 Jun 6.
Here, the study presents a thermally activated cell-signal imaging (TACSI) microrobot, capable of photothermal actuation, sensing, and light-driven locomotion. The plasmonic soft microrobot is specifically designed for thermal stimulation of mammalian cells to investigate cell behavior under heat active conditions. Due to the integrated thermosensitive fluorescence probe, Rhodamine B, the system allows dynamic measurement of induced temperature changes. TACSI microrobots show excellent biocompatibility over 72 h in vitro, and they are capable of thermally activating single cells to cell clusters. Locomotion in a 3D workspace is achieved by relying on thermophoretic convection, and the microrobot speed is controlled within a range of 5-65 µm s . In addition, light-driven actuation enables spatiotemporal control of the microrobot temperature up to a maximum of 60 °C. Using TACSI microrobots, this study targets single cells within a large population, and demonstrates thermal cell stimulation using calcium signaling as a biological output. Initial studies with human embryonic kidney 293 cells indicate a dose dependent change in intracellular calcium content within the photothermally controlled temperature range of 37-57 °C.
本文提出了一种热激活细胞信号成像(TACSI)微机器人,它能够进行光热驱动、传感和光驱动运动。该等离子体软微机器人专门设计用于对哺乳动物细胞进行热刺激,以研究在热激活条件下的细胞行为。由于集成了热敏荧光探针 Rhodamine B,该系统允许对诱导的温度变化进行动态测量。TACSI 微机器人在体外 72 小时内表现出优异的生物相容性,并且能够热激活单个细胞到细胞簇。通过依赖热泳对流来实现 3D 工作空间中的运动,并且可以控制微机器人的速度在 5-65 µm s 的范围内。此外,光驱动致动使得能够将微机器人的温度在高达 60°C 的范围内进行时空控制。使用 TACSI 微机器人,本研究针对大群体中的单个细胞,并展示了使用钙信号作为生物输出的热细胞刺激。对人胚肾 293 细胞的初步研究表明,在光热控制的 37-57°C 温度范围内,细胞内钙离子含量存在剂量依赖性变化。