Amazing! 3D printing can be achieved by bacterial colonies

Roberto Leonardo, a professor of physics at the University of Rome, has developed a series of micromotors that can be powered by bacteria and lasers and start to rotate. Let's take a look at the relevant content with the editor of Medical Electronics.

Nanoscale 3D printing technology is not new, but related applications are constantly being innovated. After one of the techniques, called "two-photon lithography", became popular, many aesthetic models were made using this technology, including microscopic racing cars, space shuttles, and even ancient Roman sculptures.

Although researchers also hope to apply this technology to the medical field, so far, from a mechanical point of view, the success has been limited. For example, one research group has used 3D printing to make a nanodevice called "shark" that can move freely in a magnetic field, and other research groups are committed to developing new geometries to increase the probability of successful targeted drug delivery.

Previous studies have indeed proved that nanotechnology has great potential in certain applications, and the printed objects have unexpected medical effects. Scientists at the University of Rome have used this property to develop micromotors powered by light-controlled bacteria. In the experiment, Leonardo's team demonstrated how 36 electric motors work in unison, foreshadowing what the future of 3D printed micromachines will look like.

Leonardo said that using modern tools such as nanotechnology and microfabrication, researchers can make better and better micro-machines. Through the two-photon lithography system of 3D printing, any shape can be printed, but if you want the machine to move autonomously, you need to find power. The mechanical system made of semi-solid resin, combined with assembly tools such as holographic optical tweezers, can use lasers to manipulate tiny life forms.

In the special motors launched by Leonardo's experimental team, researchers used genetically modified E. coli. In the micro-motor array, each motor is etched with 15 micro-chambers on its surface. When the researchers drop a drop of thousands of swimming bacteria, they swim into the micro-chambers one by one, with their heads inside and their flagella outside. Under the combined force, the bacteria become tiny "propellers" that rotate the 3D micro-motor like running water turns a waterwheel.

Since the modified E. coli also has its own swimming style and behavioral characteristics, the researchers also deliberately built a small ramp on the motor, tilted at a 45-degree angle to maximize the torque, and drove it into the microchamber, allowing the flagella to whip freely outside the chamber to drive the single motor rotor to move. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the thrust generated by the bacteria is intermittent, and it takes about 1 minute for the motor to rotate once. Sometimes the movement direction of some rotors will be reversed, wasting energy.

In order to gather and control the bacteria, the researchers used a laser to illuminate the motor system every 10 seconds, so that each component in the system could move in unison. In the past, the scientific community used electric or magnetic fields to control bacteria, but they were expensive and difficult to make. Using light to control the motor system is simple and low-cost, and it can also allow bacteria to respond to different signals in the environment.

Leonardo pointed out that the basic unit of life is the cell, and medical diagnosis can start from collecting single cells. At present, human research is just the beginning. Independent researchers are always working hard in physics, engineering, biology and other fields, but from the perspective of nanotechnology, society can only benefit the most if research in different fields is put together.

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