Chemical-mediated translocation in protocell-based microactuators

Gao, Ning; Li, Mei; Tian, Liangfei; Patil, Avinash J.; Kumar, B. V. V. S. Pavan; Mann, Stephen

doi:10.1038/s41557-021-00728-9

Cited by 38 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Inspired by the movements of soft living tissues, hydrogel-based soft actuators that can mimic biological functions have been an active area of research and discussion. − The mechanical actuation of hydrogels is usually achieved by volume change through absorbing and releasing water in and out of their networks in response to external stimuli. Along this line, diverse elegant hydrogel actuators have been created under the control of environmental parameters like pH, − temperature, − light, − electric field, − ions, − and magnetic field. − However, so far, the vast majority of the reported examples are switched between different thermodynamic equilibrium states by sequentially turning on/off the external stimuli, , showing limited autonomous capability. ,, In stark contrast, the actuation of soft living tissues is highly autonomous, which is usually realized by nonequilibrium chemical reaction networks (CRNs) powered by high-energy biomolecules, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). For example, muscles contract by consuming the energy released by the conversion of ATP into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and spontaneously relax to the original state once ATP is used (Figure a). , Thus, access to autonomous hydrogel actuators powered by chemical fuels, analogous to living tissues, would be extremely advantageous for lifelike soft robotics yet remains a formidable task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired Self-Resettable Hydrogel Actuators Powered by a Chemical Fuel

Bai

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The movements of soft living tissues, such as muscle, have sparked a strong interest in the design of hydrogel actuators; however, so far, typical manmade examples still lag behind their biological counterparts, which usually function under nonequilibrium conditions through the consumption of high-energy biomolecules and show highly autonomous behaviors. Here, we report on self-resettable hydrogel actuators that are powered by a chemical fuel and can spontaneously return to their original states over time once the fuels are depleted. Self-resettable actuation originates from a chemical fuel-mediated transient change in the hydrophilicity of the hydrogel networks. The actuation extent and duration can be programmed by the fuel levels, and the self-resettable actuation process is highly recyclable through refueling. Furthermore, various proof-of-concept autonomous soft robots are created, resembling the movements of soft-bodied creatures in nature. This work may serve as a starting point for the development of lifelike soft robots with autonomous behaviors.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioinspired Self-Resettable Hydrogel Actuators Powered by a Chemical Fuel

Bai

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mann and co‐workers introduced proteinosomes into hydrogels for actuation. [ 120 ] Helical Ca 2+ /alginate based hydrogel filaments were loaded with proteinosomes, namely a bovine serum albumin–PNIPAM conjugate, via a microfluidic approach. In order to form actuators, enzymes were introduced into the semipermeable proteinosomes.…”

Section: Types Of Multicompartment Hydrogelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multicompartment Hydrogels

Schmidt

2022

Macromol. Rapid Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hydrogels belong to the most promising materials in polymer and materials science at the moment. As they feature soft and tissue-like character as well as high water-content, a broad range of applications are addressed with hydrogels, e.g., tissue engineering and wound dressings but also soft robotics, drug delivery, actuators, and catalysis. Ways to tailor hydrogel properties are crosslinking mechanisms, hydrogel shape, and reinforcement, but new features can be introduced by variation of hydrogel composition as well, e.g., via monomer choice, functionalization or compartmentalization. In particular, multicompartment hydrogels drive progress toward complex and highly functional soft materials. In the present review the latest developments in multicompartment hydrogels are highlighted with a focus on three types of compartments; micellar/vesicular, droplets, and multilayers including various subcategories. Furthermore, several morphologies of compartmentalized hydrogels and applications of multicompartment hydrogels will be discussed as well. Finally, an outlook toward future developments of the field will be given. The further development of multicompartment hydrogels is highly relevant for a broad range of applications and will have a significant impact on biomedicine and organic devices.

show abstract

“…Based in part on the mimicking of extracellular matrix/living cell interactions, synthetic prototissues have also been constructed by immobilizing populations of artificial protocells in soft viscoelastic aqueous media such as polysaccharide hydrogels. For example, millimetre-sized emulsion droplets have been stabilized by entrapment in an alginate matrix 46 , 47 , and enzyme-active proteinosomes immobilized in helical hydrogel filaments to implement signal-induced movement and protocell-mediated micro-actuation 48 . Membrane-less coacervate droplets have been captured in single hydrogels by self-immobilization 49 or incarcerated in different hydrogel modules to produce a linear modular micro-reactor capable of a photocatalytic/peroxidation cascade reaction under non-equilibrium flow conditions 50 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signal processing and generation of bioactive nitric oxide in a model prototissue

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2022

Nat Commun

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The design and construction of synthetic prototissues from integrated assemblies of artificial protocells is an important challenge for synthetic biology and bioengineering. Here we spatially segregate chemically communicating populations of enzyme-decorated phospholipid-enveloped polymer/DNA coacervate protocells in hydrogel modules to construct a tubular prototissue-like vessel capable of modulating the output of bioactive nitric oxide (NO). By decorating the protocells with glucose oxidase, horseradish peroxidase or catalase and arranging different modules concentrically, a glucose/hydroxyurea dual input leads to logic-gate signal processing under reaction-diffusion conditions, which results in a distinct NO output in the internal lumen of the model prototissue. The NO output is exploited to inhibit platelet activation and blood clot formation in samples of plasma and whole blood located in the internal channel of the device, thereby demonstrating proof-of-concept use of the prototissue-like vessel for anticoagulation applications. Our results highlight opportunities for the development of spatially organized synthetic prototissue modules from assemblages of artificial protocells and provide a step towards the organization of biochemical processes in integrated micro-compartmentalized media, micro-reactor technology and soft functional materials.

show abstract

Chemical-mediated translocation in protocell-based microactuators

Abstract: Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.

Cited by 38 publications

References 62 publications

Bioinspired Self-Resettable Hydrogel Actuators Powered by a Chemical Fuel

Bioinspired Self-Resettable Hydrogel Actuators Powered by a Chemical Fuel

Multicompartment Hydrogels

Signal processing and generation of bioactive nitric oxide in a model prototissue

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About