Paul Seung Soo Kim

Motion control of magnetized Tetrahymena pyriformis cells by a magnetic field with Model Predictive Control

This paper presents the Model Predictive Control (MPC) of magnetized Tetrahymena pyriformis (T. pyriformis) using a magnetic field. The magnetized T. pyriformis are generated by feeding spherical iron oxide particles into the cells. Using an external magnetic field, we change the movement direction of the cell, but the speed of the cell remains constant regardless of the strength of the external magnetic field. The contributions of this paper are threefold. First, the discrete-time plant model of the magnetized cell is generated using the least-squares method. Second, using the model of each cell, they are controlled to follow a reference track by an external magnetic field with MPC. Third, by using a predictor-like scheme to execute the plant input before the measurement of the cell position, we successfully solve the image-processing delay problem in the feedback system. In our results, we show three comparisons between different control schemes and an initial tracking to prove the effectiveness of the control approach.

Three-dimensional control of Tetrahymena pyriformis using artificial magnetotaxis

We demonstrate three-dimensional control with the eukaryotic cell Tetrahymena pyriformis (T. pyriformis) using two sets of Helmholtz coils for xy-plane motion and a single electromagnet for z-direction motion. T. pyriformis is modified to have artificial magnetotaxis with internalized magnetite. To track the cell’s z-axis position, intensity profiles of non-motile cells at varying distances from the focal plane are used. During vertical motion along the z-axis, the intensity difference is used to determine the position of the cell. The three-dimensional control of the live microorganism T. pyriformis as a cellular robot shows great potential for practical applications in microscale tasks, such as target transport and cell therapy.

Feedback control of many magnetized: Tetrahymena pyriformis cells by exploiting phase inhomogeneity

Biological robots can be produced in large numbers, but are often controlled by uniform inputs. This makes position control of multiple robots inherently challenging. This paper uses magnetically-steered ciliate eukaryon {Tetrahymena pyriformis) as a case study. These cells swim at a constant speed, and can be turned by changing the orientation of an external magnetic field. We show that it is possible to steer multiple T. pyriformis to independent goals if their turning - modeled as a first-order system - has unique time constants. We provide system identification tools to parameterize multiple cells in parallel. We construct feedback control-Lyapunov methods that exploit differing phase-lags under a rotating magnetic field to steer multiple cells to independent target positions. We prove that these techniques scale to any number of cells with unique first-order responses to the global magnetic field. We provide simulations steering hundreds of cells and validate our procedure in hardware experiments with multiple cells.

Imparting magnetic dipole heterogeneity to internalized iron oxide nanoparticles for microorganism swarm control

Tetrahymena pyriformis is a single cell eukaryote that can be modified to respond to magnetic fields, a response called magnetotaxis. Naturally, this microorganism cannot respond to magnetic fields, but after modification using iron oxide nanoparticles, cells are magnetized and exhibit a constant magnetic dipole strength. In experiments, a rotating field is applied to cells using a two-dimensional approximate Helmholtz coil system. Using rotating magnetic fields, we characterize discrete cells’ swarm swimming which is affected by several factors. The behavior of the cells under these fields is explained in detail. After the field is removed, relatively straight swimming is observed. We also generate increased heterogeneity within a population of cells to improve controllability of a swarm, which is explored in a cell model. By exploiting this straight swimming behavior, we propose a method to control discrete cells utilizing a single global magnetic input. Successful implementation of this swarm control method would enable teams of microrobots to perform a variety of in vitro microscale tasks impossible for single microrobots, such as pushing objects or simultaneous micromanipulation of discrete entities.

Three-dimensional control of engineered motile cellular microrobots

We demonstrate three-dimensional control with the eukaryotic cell Tetrahymena pyriformis (T. pyriformis) using two sets of Helmholtz coils for xy-plane motion and a single electromagnet for vertical motion. T. pyriformis is modified to have artificial magnetotaxis with internalized magnetite. Since the magnetic fields exerted by electromagnets are relatively uniform in the working space, the magnetite exerts only torque, without translational force, which enabled us to guide the cells swimming direction while the swimming force is exerted only by the cells motile organelles. A stronger magnetic force was necessary to steer cells to the z-axis, and, as a result, a single electromagnet placed just below our sample area is utilized for vertical motion. To track the cells positions in the z-axis, intensity profiles of non-motile cells at varying distances from the focal plane are used. During vertical motion along the z-axis, the intensity difference from the background decreases while the cell size increases. Since the cell is pear-shaped, the eccentricity is high during planar motion, but lowers during vertical motion due to the change in orientation. The three-dimensional control of the live organism T. pyriformis as a cellular robot shows great potential to be utilized for practical applications in microscale tasks, such as target transport and cell therapy.

Characterization of Deciliation-Regeneration Process of Tetrahymena Pyriformis for Cellular Robot Fabrication

Artificial magnetotactic Tetrahymena pyriformis GL (T. pyriformis) cells were created by the internalization of iron oxide nano particles and became controllable with a time-varying external magnetic field. Thus, T. pyriformis can be utilized as a cellular robot to conduct micro-scale tasks such as transportation and manipulation. To complete these tasks, loading inorganic or organic materials onto the cell body is essential, but functionalization of the cell membrane is obstructed by their motile organelles, cilia. Dibucaine HCl, a local anesthetic, removes the cilia from the cell body, and the functional group would be absorbed more efficiently during cilia regeneration. In this paper, we characterize the recovery of artificial magnetotactic T. pyriformis after the deciliation process to optimize a cellular robot fabrication process. After sufficient time to recover, the motility rate and the average velocity of the deciliated cells were six and ten percent lower than that of non-deciliated cells, respectively. We showed that the motile cells after recovery can still be controlled using magnetotaxis, making T. pyriformis a good candidate to be used as a cellular robot.

Galvanotactic behavior of Tetrahymena pyriformis under electric fields

Tetrahymena pyriformis, a eukaryotic ciliate, swims toward a cathode in straight or cross-shaped microchannels under an applied electric field, a behavioral response called cathodal galvanotaxis. In straight channel experiments, a one-dimensional electric field was applied, and the galvanotactic swimming behavior of Tetrahymena pyriformis was observed and described in detail while the polarity of this field is switched. In most individual cases, the cell would immediately switch its direction toward the cathode; however, exceptional cases have been observed where cells exhibit a turning delay or do not turn after a polarity switch. In cross-channel experiments, feedback control using vision-based tracking was used to steer a cell in the microchannel intersection using a two-dimensional electric field generated by four electrodes placed at four ends of the cross channel. The motivation for this work is to study the swimming behavior of Tetrahymena pyriformis as a microrobot under the control of electric fields.

Magnetic Control of Biologically Inspired Robotic Microswimmers

Bacterial flagella have been employed as nanoactuators for biomimetic microswimmers in low Reynolds number fluidic environments. The microswimmer is a dumbbell-like swimmer that utilizes flagellar hydrodynamics to achieve spiral-type swimming. Flagellar filaments from Salmonella typhimurium are harnessed and functionalized in order to serve as couplers for polystyrene (PS) microbeads and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using avidin-biotin chemistry. The MNP have an iron oxide core that will allow us to actuate the microswimmer under a rotating magnetic field. Using a micromanufacturing process, microswimmer of different configurations can be created to mimic mono- and multi-flagellated bacteria. A magnetic control system consists of electromagnetic coils arranged in an approximate Helmholtz configuration was designed, constructed, and characterized. In conjunction with a LabVIEW input interface, a DAQ controller was used as a function generator to generate sinusoidal waveforms to the power supplies. AC current outputs were supplied from the power supplies to the coils in order to generate a rotating magnetic field. A rotating magnetic field will induce rotation in the flagella conjugated MNP which in term will rotate the flagellar filament into a spiral configuration and achieve propulsion, as in polarly-flagellated bacteria. A high-speed camera provided real-time imaging of the microswimmer motion in a static fluidic environment inside a closed PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) chamber. The microswimmers exhibited flagellar propulsion in a low Reynolds number fluidic environment under a rotating magnetic field, which demonstrates its potential for biomedical applications.Copyright