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

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under CMMI 1000255, CMMI 1000284, and by ARO W911F-11-1-0490.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Paul Seung Soo Kim & Min Jun Kim

  2. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Aaron Becker

  3. Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Yan Ou & Anak Agung Julius

Authors
  1. Paul Seung Soo Kim
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  2. Aaron Becker
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  3. Yan Ou
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  4. Anak Agung Julius
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  5. Min Jun Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Min Jun Kim.

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Guest Editors: Leonardo Ricotti, Arianna Menciassi

This article is part of the topical collection on Nanotechnology in Biorobotic Systems

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Kim, P.S.S., Becker, A., Ou, Y. et al. Imparting magnetic dipole heterogeneity to internalized iron oxide nanoparticles for microorganism swarm control. J Nanopart Res 17, 144 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-014-2746-y

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