Taher Saif
Academic Title-Position: Gutgsell Professor, Mechanical Science and Engineering
Department: Mechanical Science and Engineering
University: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Research Lab: Saif Lab | Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory
Research Group Leader: Biobots
Current Research
Topic: Biomachines (Motile Bots, Pump-bots), MPS (Neuron-Muscle)
Contributing Trainee(s) and corresponding trainee projects: Onur Aydin (Motile Bots, Neuron-Muscle), Zhengwei Li (Pump-bots).
Featured in:
This is the first prototype of a bio-hybrid swimmer where a group of neurons innervate a band of muscle wrapping around two tails of the swimmer. The neurons fire collectively and synchronously. As a result, the tails bend like flagella and the swimmer can swim. Such biological machines may one day be used for intelligent drug delivery, environmental cleaning, and for sensing.
Publication:
O. Aydin, X. Zhang, S. Nuethong, G.J. Pagan-Diaz, R. Bashir, M. Gazzola, and M.T.A. Saif (2019). Neuromuscular actuation of biohybrid motile bots. PNAS, 116(40), 19841-19847.