µRoboTAXI: microrobot-assisted tissue construction at single cell precision

• Applicant: Professorin Berna Özkale Edelmann
• Subject Area: Microsystems ; Automation, Mechatronics, Control Systems, Intelligent Technical Systems, Robotics ; Biomaterials
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 529887981

Microrobots are small scale machines that are capable of reaching confined spaces to do challenging tasks. Using stimuli responsive materials to construct microrobots allow human users to control actuation and locomotion via external stimuli such as light, magnetic fields, and acoustics. Owing to their remarkable features, these microscale machines have become particularly interesting for biomedical applications over the last two decades. While microrobots have received considerable attention for targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery, they have recently proven to be powerful tools for cell manipulation outside of the body. Small scale machines have been used to mechanically and chemically interact with single mammalian cells, to regulate cell behavior. This has opened up new avenues in tissue engineering. Microrobots could be used to build tissues outside of the body in a highly controlled manner, while maintaining cell culture conditions. In this project, we will engineer microrobots for tissue engineering applications, which will be compatible with cell culture environments. We will use microrobots to assemble tissues with precisely arranged cellular structures to resemble natural tissue. We will simultaneously manipulate cell behavior using externally guided stimulation to generate functional tissues. Our technology will address a crucial need in bioengineering.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants