Development of High-Cell-Density Tissue Method for Compressed Modular Bioactuator.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Robotics

Background:

• Bioactuators are crucial for micro-biorobots but lack the power of animal muscles.
• Increasing cell density is a key challenge in enhancing bioactuator performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of centrifugal force to increase cell density in cultured muscle cells for bioactuators.
• To determine the optimal centrifugal force for enhancing cell density and contractile function.

Main Methods:

• Muscle cells were cultured within a matrix gel.
• Centrifugal force was applied to the cell-laden gel before curing to increase cell density.
• The effect of varying centrifugal forces (around 450× g) was analyzed.
• Compressed modular bioactuators (C-MBAs) were fabricated using the optimized method.

Main Results:

• Optimal centrifugal force identified at approximately 450× g.
• The fabricated C-MBA showed 1.71 times higher cell density compared to conventional methods.
• Contractile force per unit cross-sectional area was 1.88 times higher in the C-MBA.

Conclusions:

• Centrifugal force application is an effective method to enhance muscle cell density and bioactuator power.
• The developed technique significantly improves bioactuator performance, approaching the power of animal muscles.
• This advancement holds promise for creating next-generation bioactuators with muscle-like capabilities.