Title :
Superparamagnetic hydrogels for Two-Photon Polymerization and their application for the fabrication of swimming microrobots
Author :
Peters, C. ; Costanza, V. ; Pane, S. ; Nelson, B.J. ; Hierold, C.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. & Process Eng., ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract :
This work reports on superparamagnetic hydrogel composites suitable for Two-Photon Polymerization (TPP) and their application for the fabrication of helical swimming microrobots, also known as Artificial Bacterial Flagella (ABFs). Suitable hydrogel compositions consisting of multifunctional monomers were identified based on percolation theory and prepared accordingly. Hydrogel ABFs 28 μm in length and 3 μm in diameter were fabricated and actuated in DI water. The investigated hydrogel (polyethylene glycol (PEG)) is of particular interest to the biomedical MEMS community. PEG can absorb/release water-soluble drugs and is highly resistant to protein adsorption. The combination of PEG and superparamagnetic nanoparticles enables corkscrew propulsion of ABFs, making them ideal candidates for biomedical applications in vivo and in vitro.
Keywords :
adsorption; hydrogels; magnetic materials; nanomagnetics; nanoparticles; paramagnetic materials; percolation; polymerisation; superparamagnetism; artificial bacterial flagella; corkscrew propulsion; helical swimming microrobots; multifunctional monomers; percolation theory; protein adsorption; size 28 mum; size 3 mum; superparamagnetic hydrogel composites; superparamagnetic nanoparticles; two-photon polymerization; water-soluble drugs; Fabrication; Lattices; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Polymers; Solvents; Writing; Superparamagnetic composite; hydrogel; magnetite; percolation theory; two-photon polymerization;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (TRANSDUCERS), 2015 Transducers - 2015 18th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Anchorage, AK
DOI :
10.1109/TRANSDUCERS.2015.7181035
