Biomimetic cell-actuated artificial muscle with nanofibrous bundles

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Biohybrid artificial muscles offer potential for advanced biomedical applications.
• Existing technologies lack the dynamic actuation and biocompatibility needed for in vivo systems.
• Skeletal muscle's bundled myofilament structure provides a model for artificial muscle design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a biohybrid artificial muscle integrating living muscle cells and scaffolds.
• To mimic the structure and function of natural skeletal muscle for enhanced performance.
• To explore the potential of cell-actuated muscles as actuators in biomedical devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a bundled biohybrid artificial muscle using skeletal muscle cells and hydrophilic polyurethane (HPU)/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanofibers.
• Integration of cells and nanofibers into a 3D fiber structure resembling natural muscle.
• Application of electrical field stimulation to induce reversible muscle contraction.

Main Results:

• Successfully created a fiber-shaped biohybrid artificial muscle with a stretchable HPU/CNT nanofiber backbone.
• Demonstrated that incorporated skeletal muscle fibers provide actuation capabilities.
• Confirmed reversible contraction of the biohybrid artificial muscle upon electrical field stimulation.

Conclusions:

• The developed biohybrid artificial muscle shows great potential as an actuator for implantable medical robots and drug delivery systems.
• Further research into innervation with motor neurons could enable sophisticated human-machine interfaces.
• This technology advances cell-actuated artificial muscles for future biomedical applications.