Tetherless thermobiochemically actuated microgrippers

doi:10.1073/pnas.0807698106

Tetherless thermobiochemically actuated microgrippers

Departments of ^aChemical and Biomolecular Engineering and
^cChemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218; and
^bDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205

Edited by James R. Heath, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, and accepted by the Editorial Board November 25, 2008 (received for review August 5, 2008)

Abstract

We demonstrate mass-producible, tetherless microgrippers that can be remotely triggered by temperature and chemicals under biologically relevant conditions. The microgrippers use a self-contained actuation response, obviating the need for external tethers in operation. The grippers can be actuated en masse, even while spatially separated. We used the microgrippers to perform diverse functions, such as picking up a bead on a substrate and the removal of cells from tissue embedded at the end of a capillary (an in vitro biopsy).

Footnotes

¹To whom correspondence should be addressed at: 3400 North Charles Street, 125 Maryland Hall, Baltimore, MD 21218. E-mail: dgracias{at}jhu.edu
Author contributions: T.G.L., C.L.R., B.R.B., and D.H.G. designed research; T.G.L., C.L.R., B.R.B., and G.M.S. performed research; N.B. and G.M.S. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; T.G.L., C.L.R., N.B., G.M.S., and D.H.G. analyzed data; and T.G.L., C.L.R., B.R.B., N.B., G.M.S., and D.H.G. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. J.R.H. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.