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iDEA: DREXEL LIBRARIES E-REPOSITORY AND ARCHIVES

iDEA: DREXEL LIBRARIES E-REPOSITORY AND ARCHIVES

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The Control of Tetrahymena pyriformis Using Behavioral Responses to Various Stimuli as a Biological Actuator

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Title
The Control of Tetrahymena pyriformis Using Behavioral Responses to Various Stimuli as a Biological Actuator
Author(s)
Kim, Paul Seung Soo
Advisor(s)
Kim, Min Jun
Keywords
Mechanical engineering; Autonomous robots; Tetrahymena pyriformis
Date
2015-05-01
Publisher
Drexel University
Thesis
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering -- Drexel University, 2015
Abstract
There is great interest in developing viable robotic swimmers at the microscale for applications such as microassembly, micromanipulation, and drug efficacy testing and other biomedical tasks. One of the greatest obstacles for developing microrobots is the often expensive and complicated fabrication techniques. Microorganisms are continuously targeted for microrobotics research because they possess many of the required components needed for robotic systems, including power systems, sensing abilities, and swimming mechanisms. They are also relatively inexpensive to produce. We investigated the single cell microorganism Tetrahymena pyriformis as a candidate for a microrobot. This ciliated protozoan responds to a variety of stimuli. Here, we demonstrated its control through a variety of control modalities, including electric and magnetic fields. Turning behavior and response to electric fields were quantitatively characterized. We also investigated its swimming capabilities by stripping the cell of its motile organelles and observe their regeneration and recovery. While this cell does not naturally respond to magnetic fields, they were modified through the uptake iron oxide particles and then imparted with a magnetic dipole using a permanent magnet. Magnetic control was used only to steer the cell with negligible translational force. Each cell possessed a magnetic dipole after magnetization, whose strength is a function of the strength the a permanent magnet used to magnetize the cells as well as function of the amount of ingested iron oxide. By studying the effects of rotational fields and each cell’s unique response to the rotational frequency, discrete multi-cell control becomes possible. This swarm control was validated in theory, simulation, and experiments. The development and control of this organism as a microrobot will give us valuable insight to harness and develop versatile biologically inspired robotic systems in the microscale.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1860/idea:6355
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Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

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