Phototactic guidance of a tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray

Sung-Jin Park; Mattia Gazzola; Kyung Soo Park; Shirley Park; Valentina Di Santo; Erin L Blevins; Johan U Lind; Patrick H Campbell; Stephanie Dauth; Andrew K Capulli; Francesco S Pasqualini; Seungkuk Ahn; Alexander Cho; Hongyan Yuan; Ben M Maoz; Ragu Vijaykumar; Jeong-Woo Choi; Karl Deisseroth; George V Lauder; L Mahadevan; Kevin Kit Parker

doi:10.1126/science.aaf4292

Phototactic guidance of a tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray

Science. 2016 Jul 8;353(6295):158-62. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf4292.

Authors

Sung-Jin Park¹, Mattia Gazzola², Kyung Soo Park³, Shirley Park⁴, Valentina Di Santo⁵, Erin L Blevins⁵, Johan U Lind¹, Patrick H Campbell¹, Stephanie Dauth¹, Andrew K Capulli¹, Francesco S Pasqualini¹, Seungkuk Ahn¹, Alexander Cho¹, Hongyan Yuan¹, Ben M Maoz¹, Ragu Vijaykumar⁴, Jeong-Woo Choi³, Karl Deisseroth⁶, George V Lauder⁵, L Mahadevan⁷, Kevin Kit Parker⁸

Affiliations

¹ Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
² John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
³ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Korea. Sogang-Harvard Research Center for Disease Biophysics, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Korea.
⁴ Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
⁵ Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
⁶ Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
⁷ John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Physics, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Kavli Institute for Nanobio Science and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138S, USA.
⁸ Disease Biophysics Group, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Sogang-Harvard Research Center for Disease Biophysics, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742, Korea. kkparker@seas.harvard.edu.

Abstract

Inspired by the relatively simple morphological blueprint provided by batoid fish such as stingrays and skates, we created a biohybrid system that enables an artificial animal--a tissue-engineered ray--to swim and phototactically follow a light cue. By patterning dissociated rat cardiomyocytes on an elastomeric body enclosing a microfabricated gold skeleton, we replicated fish morphology at 1/10 scale and captured basic fin deflection patterns of batoid fish. Optogenetics allows for phototactic guidance, steering, and turning maneuvers. Optical stimulation induced sequential muscle activation via serpentine-patterned muscle circuits, leading to coordinated undulatory swimming. The speed and direction of the ray was controlled by modulating light frequency and by independently eliciting right and left fins, allowing the biohybrid machine to maneuver through an obstacle course.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animal Fins / physiology
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cues
Light*
Muscle, Skeletal / physiology
Optogenetics
Robotics*
Skates, Fish / physiology*
Swimming / physiology*
Tissue Engineering*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding