Cardiomyocyte-driven gel network for bio mechano-informatic wet robotics

This paper reports on a cellular mechano-informatics network gel robot which was powered by culturing cardiomyocytes in the micro gel structure. Contraction activities propagated through the cardiomyocyte gel network will transmit a spatial mechanical wave as information about the chemical and mechanical responses to environmental changes. The cardiomyocyte gel network robot transmits electrically excited potential and mechanical stretch-induced contractions as information carried on the gel network. The cardiomyocyte gel network robot was fabricated from a mixture of primary cardiomyocytes and collagen gel and molded in a PDMS casting mold, which could produce serial, parallel lattice, or radial pattern networks. Fluorescent calcium imaging showed that the calcium activity of the cardiomyocytes in the gel network was segmented in small domains in the gel network; however, the local contraction that started on one branch of the gel network was propagated to a neighboring branch, and the propagation velocity was increased with increasing concentration of adrenaline. This increase was limited to ~20 mm/s. This proposed mechano-informatics kineticism will provide not only mechano-informatics for cardiomyocyte powered wet robotics but will also help show how cardiac disease occurs in activity propagation systems.