Photoresponsive Hydrogel Microcrawlers Exploit Friction Hysteresis to Crawl by Reciprocal Actuation

Řehoř, Ivan; Maslen, Charlie; Moerman, Pepijn G.; Ravensteijn, Bas G. P. van; Alst, Renee van; Groenewold, Jan; Eral, Hüseyin Burak; Kegel, Willem K.

doi:10.1089/soro.2019.0169

Cited by 47 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…A different yet interesting case is that of crawling robots, where a reciprocal actuation, such as a simple contraction–expansion cycle, was shown to lead to efficient movement by exploiting a head‐to‐tail asymmetry of the surface friction on ratchet surfaces. [ 129 ] Microrobotic crawlers prepared by using photoresponsive PNIPAm with embedded gold nanoparticles arranged in a simple shape with a size of 100 × 50 × 30 μm 3 produce, when irradiated on one side, a contraction–expansion cycle that results in a net displacement due to the hysteresis of the cycle of friction with the surface during the whole deformation process. The movement is parallel to the line connecting the irradiation spot and the robot center of mass, which allows for control over the crawling direction.…”

Section: Light‐powered Microrobots—types and Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Light‐Powered Microrobots: Challenges and Opportunities for Hard and Soft Responsive Microswimmers

Bunea

Martella

Nocentini

et al. 2021

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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30 ms, the helical chiral structure is reverted. Reproduced with permission. [127] Copyright 2017, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. C) Directional movement of an oscillating helix hydrogel-based microstructure confined between two glass surfaces. Reproduced with permission. [127] Copyright 2017, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. D) (Left) Superimposed images of a spiral rotor under irradiation for 0.5 s and relaxation for 0.5 s and (right) superimposition of the thresholded outline of the rotor at different times. Reproduced under the terms of the CC-BY license. [128] Copyright 2019, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. E) LCN-based swimmer microrobots. (Left) Schematic illustration of the bioinspired wormlike travelling wave deformation shape change occurring during homogeneous phase transition or illumination with a patterned light. (Middle, right) Optical images of a microtube displacement under travelling patterned irradiation. (Middle) Green overlays, direction according to green arrows, yellow dashed line is the reference position. (Right) Optical microscopy images of a microdisk locomotion along a square path-the travelling wave direction is indicated by the green arrows, and the disk's direction of travel to the next waypoint by the white arrows. Reproduced with permission. [134] Copyright 2016, Springer Nature.

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Section: Light‐powered Microrobots—types and Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This concept was also demonstrated for a U‐shaped microrobot that can be steered in the movement plane by irradiating one of its rectangular elements, or can undergo straight movement upon simultaneous irradiation of both ends. [ 129 ]…”

Section: Light‐powered Microrobots—types and Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light‐Powered Microrobots: Challenges and Opportunities for Hard and Soft Responsive Microswimmers

Bunea

Martella

Nocentini

et al. 2021

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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“…Hydrogel actuators with 2D geometry can be fabricated with classic photolithography that uses photomasks for geometry control, such as stop-flow lithography ( Rehor et al, 2020 ). Hydrogel structures with complex 3D geometry can be made via laser-based 3D printing techniques from three major categories: laser-induced forward transfer, which uses laser energy to discharge hydrogel droplets from a donor layer onto a substrate ( Guillemot et al, 2011 ); two photon-polymerization (2PP) ( Figure 1B1 ) which initiates hydrogel polymerization through irradiation with near-infrared laser pulses ( Billiet et al, 2012 ); and stereolithography (SLA) ( Figure 1C1 ), which selectively crosslink photo-sensitive monomer resin using scanning UV laser beams ( Cvetkovic et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: 3d Printing Techniques For Hydrogel Actuator Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D Printing Hydrogel-Based Soft and Biohybrid Actuators: A Mini-Review on Fabrication Techniques, Applications, and Challenges

et al. 2021

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Stimuli-responsive hydrogels are candidate building blocks for soft robotic applications due to many of their unique properties, including tunable mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Over the past decade, there has been significant progress in developing soft and biohybrid actuators using naturally occurring and synthetic hydrogels to address the increasing demands for machines capable of interacting with fragile biological systems. Recent advancements in three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, either as a standalone manufacturing process or integrated with traditional fabrication techniques, have enabled the development of hydrogel-based actuators with on-demand geometry and actuation modalities. This mini-review surveys existing research efforts to inspire the development of novel fabrication techniques using hydrogel building blocks and identify potential future directions. In this article, existing 3D fabrication techniques for hydrogel actuators are first examined. Next, existing actuation mechanisms, including pneumatic, hydraulic, ionic, dehydration-rehydration, and cell-powered actuation, are reviewed with their benefits and limitations discussed. Subsequently, the applications of hydrogel-based actuators, including compliant handling of fragile items, micro-swimmers, wearable devices, and origami structures, are described. Finally, challenges in fabricating functional actuators using existing techniques are discussed.

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“…[ 7b,12a ] Moreover, a crawling microrobot was fabricated recently by a homogeneous hydrogel film; locomotion was achieved by the friction hysteresis of the swelling and deswelling processes. [ 54 ] These examples will be interluded in the sections below with more details.…”

Section: Stimulus‐responsive Hydrogel Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, a microrobot (microcrawler) was fabricated PNIPAM hydrogel by Rehor et al. [ 54 ] The microcrawler was able to move based on the friction hysteresis during swelling and deswelling which broke the symmetry and allowed the crawler to move in a low Reynolds number environment.…”

Section: Stimulus‐responsive Hydrogel Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart Polymers for Microscale Machines

Tan

Davis

Cappelleri

2020

Adv Funct Materials

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Microscale machines are able to perform a number of tasks like micromanipulation, drug‐delivery, and noninvasive surgery. In particular, microscale polymer machines that can perform intelligent work for manipulation or transport, adaptive locomotion, or sensing are in‐demand. To achieve this goal, shape‐morphing smart polymers like hydrogels, liquid crystalline polymers, and other smart polymers are of great interest. Structures fabricated by these materials undergo mechanical motion under stimulation such as temperature, pH, light, and so on. The use of these materials renders microscale machines that undergo complex stimuli‐responsive transformation such as from planar to 3D by combining spatial design like introducing in‐plane or out‐plane differences. During the past decade, many techniques have been developed or adopted for fabricating structures with smart polymers including microfabrication methods and the well‐known milestone of 4D printing, starting in 2013. In this review, the existing or potential active smart polymers that could be used to fabricate active microscale machines to accomplish complex tasks are summarized.

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Photoresponsive Hydrogel Microcrawlers Exploit Friction Hysteresis to Crawl by Reciprocal Actuation

Cited by 47 publications

References 57 publications

Light‐Powered Microrobots: Challenges and Opportunities for Hard and Soft Responsive Microswimmers

Light‐Powered Microrobots: Challenges and Opportunities for Hard and Soft Responsive Microswimmers

3D Printing Hydrogel-Based Soft and Biohybrid Actuators: A Mini-Review on Fabrication Techniques, Applications, and Challenges

Smart Polymers for Microscale Machines

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