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Dissertation
Engineered bacterial flagella for micro and nano scale actuation and sensing
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/h3g7-5366
Abstract
Currently there is a great deal of interest in micro and nano scale robotics for biomedical applications, including medical imaging, minimally invasive surgical procedures, targeted drug delivery, and in vivo diagnostics. From literature, it is clear that the main reasons why micro and nano robotics has not yet been developed for clinical use is the lack of sufficient energy and propulsion systems, as well as a lack of control systems needed for precise manipulation of these devices. Although material synthesis and processing have been rapidly advancing, no man-made material exhibits the diverse array of robustness and function inherent in many biological systems. A possible resource for such active materials exists within many microorganisms, namely bacterial flagella. One potential application of flagella is the use of these biomaterials as mechanical actuators in robotic swimmers. Here, novel stimuli-responsive synthetic swimmers are presented. First, soft robotic nanoswimmers are discussed. These swimmers are composed of repolymerized flagella from Salmonella typhimurium that are bonded to magnetic micro and nano sized particles. Also, rigid swimmers fabricated using bacterial flagella as templates are reported. Using an externally generated magnetic field to mimic the rotary motion of the flagellar motor, the ability to create non-reciprocal motion using our flagella based swimmers is demonstrated. The development and control of these micro and nano sized robots will enable us to pursue their future use in biological environments.
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Details
- Title
- Engineered bacterial flagella for micro and nano scale actuation and sensing
- Creators
- Jamel Ali - DU
- Contributors
- MinJun Kim (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xi, 89 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Engineering (1970-2026); Mechanical Engineering (and Mechanics) [Historical]; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 11363; 991014632668104721