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Morphodynamic Tissues via Integrated Programmable Shape Memory Actuators
Author(s) -
Kalashnikov Nikita,
Moraes Christopher
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201903327
Subject(s) - materials science , actuator , biofabrication , nanotechnology , shape memory polymer , orientation (vector space) , shape memory alloy , tissue engineering , microfluidics , matrix (chemical analysis) , biological system , computer science , biomedical engineering , artificial intelligence , composite material , medicine , geometry , mathematics , biology
Manipulating the shape of preformed living tissues can present a novel fabrication route toward complex biological architectures. However, external manipulation of tissues can be challenging to implement robustly at multiple length scales and with high degrees of freedom, particularly in soft fibrous tissue constructs. Here, a versatile platform is developed to drive soft tissue morphodynamics using embeddable shape memory actuators that generate multiscale, repetitive, and highly customized tissue deformation on demand. To achieve this, a thermally isolating coating technique is designed and developed for programmable shape memory wires, which protects surrounding biological materials from cytotoxic heating effects during wire actuation. The coated tissue actuators (CTAs) can then be embedded in engineered tissues and activated to produce both large‐ and small‐scale tissue deformations in a highly customized and reproducible manner. Using this strategy, tissues can be forced to adopt specified shapes, with precise control over cell elongation and orientation within an encapsulating matrix. Furthermore, the system can produce predictable, highly localized, and customizable strains within fibrous matrices, capable of elongating cells and biasing their orientation within degrees of a desired direction. This strategy may hence have broad applicability in both applied tissue biofabrication and for fundamental studies of cell–matrix interactions.