Adam R. Shields

Using mechanobiological mimicry of red blood cells to extend circulation times of hydrogel microparticles

It has long been hypothesized that elastic modulus governs the biodistribution and circulation times of particles and cells in blood; however, this notion has never been rigorously tested. We synthesized hydrogel microparticles with tunable elasticity in the physiological range, which resemble red blood cells in size and shape, and tested their behavior in vivo. Decreasing the modulus of these particles altered their biodistribution properties, allowing them to bypass several organs, such as the lung, that entrapped their more rigid counterparts, resulting in increasingly longer circulation times well past those of conventional microparticles. An 8-fold decrease in hydrogel modulus correlated to a greater than 30-fold increase in the elimination phase half-life for these particles. These results demonstrate a critical design parameter for hydrogel microparticles.

Biomimetic cilia arrays generate simultaneous pumping and mixing regimes

Living systems employ cilia to control and to sense the flow of fluids for many purposes, such as pumping, locomotion, feeding, and tissue morphogenesis. Beyond their use in biology, functional arrays of artificial cilia have been envisaged as a potential biomimetic strategy for inducing fluid flow and mixing in lab-on-a-chip devices. Here we report on fluid transport produced by magnetically actuated arrays of biomimetic cilia whose size approaches that of their biological counterparts, a scale at which advection and diffusion compete to determine mass transport. Our biomimetic cilia recreate the beat shape of embryonic nodal cilia, simultaneously generating two sharply segregated regimes of fluid flow: Above the cilia tips their motion causes directed, long-range fluid transport, whereas below the tips we show that the cilia beat generates an enhanced diffusivity capable of producing increased mixing rates. These two distinct types of flow occur simultaneously and are separated in space by less than 5 μm, approximately 20% of the biomimetic cilium length. While this suggests that our system may have applications as a versatile microfluidics device, we also focus on the biological implications of our findings. Our statistical analysis of particle transport identifying an enhanced diffusion regime provides novel evidence for the existence of mixing in ciliated systems, and we demonstrate that the directed transport regime is Poiseuille–Couette flow, the first analytical model consistent with biological measurements of fluid flow in the embryonic node.

Highly controllable near-surface swimming of magnetic Janus nanorods: application to payload capture and manipulation

Directed manipulation of nanomaterials has significant implications in the field of nanorobotics, nanobiotechnology, microfluidics and directed assembly. With the goal of highly controllable nanomaterial manipulation in mind, we present a technique for the near-surface manoeuvering of magnetic nanorod swimmers and its application to controlled micromanipulation. We fabricate magnetic Janus nanorods and show that the magnetic rotation of these nanorods near a floor results in predictable translational motion. The nanorod plane of rotation is nearly parallel to the floor, the angle between rod tilt and floor being expressed by θ, where 0° < θ < 20°. Orthogonal magnetic fields control in-plane motion arbitrarily. Our model for translation incorporates symmetry breaking through increased drag at the no-slip surface boundary. Using this method we demonstrate considerable rod steerability. Additionally, we approach, capture, and manipulate a polystyrene microbead as proof of principle. We attach Janus nanorods to the surfaces of cells and utilize these rods to manipulate individual cells, proving the ability to manoeuver payloads with a wide range of sizes.

Hydrodynamically directed multiscale assembly of shaped polymer fibers

A long-sought goal of material science is the development of fabrication processes by which synthetic materials can be made to mimic the multiscale organization many natural materials utilize to achieve unique functional and material properties. Here we demonstrate how the microfluidic fabrication of polymer fibers can take advantage of hydrodynamic forces to simultaneously direct assembly at the molecular and micron scales. The microfluidic device generates long fibers by initiating polymerization of a continuously flowing fluid via UV irradiation within the microfluidic channel. Prior to polymerization, hydrodynamic shear forces direct molecular scale assembly and a combination of hydrodynamic focusing and advection driven by grooves in the channel walls manipulate the cross-sectional shape of the pre-polymer stream. Polymerization subsequently locks in both molecular scale alignment and micron-scale fiber shape. This simple method for generating structures with multiscale organization could be useful for fabricating materials with multifunctionality or enhanced mechanical properties.

Highly responsive core-shell microactuator arrays for use in viscous and viscoelastic fluids

We present a new fabrication method to produce arrays of highly responsive polymer-metal core-shell magnetic microactuators. The core-shell fabrication method decouples the elastic and magnetic structural components such that the actuator response can be optimized by adjusting the core-shell geometry. Our microstructures are 10 μm long, 550 nm in diameter, and electrochemically fabricated in particle track-etched membranes, comprising a poly(dimethylsiloxane) core with a 100 nm Ni shell surrounding the upper 3-8 μm. The structures can achieve deflections of nearly 90° with moderate magnetic fields and are capable of driving fluid flow in a fluid 550 times more viscous than water.