Biohybrid robots, which integrate biological components with non-biological materials, have primarily been limited in size and complexity due to challenges like necrosis in lab-grown muscles. Professor Shoji Takeuchi's research team achieved a breakthrough by creating an 18 cm-long biohybrid human-like hand controlled by lab-grown muscles. The critical challenge to overcome was providing nutrients and oxygen to deeper muscle cells, preventing necrosis. The team addressed this by developing thin muscle layers, allowing increased access to necessary resources, thus potentially paving the way for larger biohybrid applications.
"Scaling up biohybrid robots has been difficult due to the weak contractile force of lab-grown muscles, the risk of necrosis in thick muscle tissues, and the challenge of integrating biological actuators with artificial structures," says Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the Tokyo University, Japan.
"In living organisms, this problem is solved by the vascular network. But building artificial vascular networks in lab-grown muscles is still something we can't do very well."
"Keeping the muscles alive... necrosis has probably been the most difficult to overcome. Growing muscles in a lab usually means a liquid medium to supply nutrients and oxygen..."
"The team started by growing thin, flat muscle fibers arranged side by side on a petri dish. This gave all the cells access to nutrients..."
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