Walking bio-bots, 3D printed from hydrogel and heart cells, could deliver drugs inside your body.
Miniature bio-bots developed at the University of Illinois are about 7 millimeters long and able to walk by themselves.
The team uses a 3-D printing method common in rapid prototyping to make the main body of the bot from hydrogel, a soft gelatin-like polymer which is then covered with rat cardiac cells.
When the heart cells beat, the long leg of the bot pulses, propelling the bio-bot forward.
The researchers envision the bio-bots being used for drug screening or chemical analysis, as the bots’ motion can indicate how the cells are responding to the environment.
By integrating cells that respond to certain stimuli, such as chemical gradients, the bio-bots could also be used as sensors.
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