The emerging technology of biohybrid micro-robots:a review

In the past few decades,robotics research has witnessed an increasingly high interest in miniaturized,intelligent,and integrated robots.The imperative component of a robot is the actuator that determines its performance.Although traditional rigid drives such as motors and gas engines have shown great prevalence in most macroscale circumstances,the reduction of these drives to the millimeter or even lower scale results in a significant increase in manufacturing difficulty accompanied by a remarkable performance decline.Biohybrid robots driven by living cells can be a potential solution to overcome these drawbacks by benefiting from the intrinsic microscale self-assembly of living tissues and high energy efficiency,which,among other unprecedented properties,also feature flexibility,self-repair,and even multiple degrees of freedom.This paper systematically reviews the development of biohybrid robots.First,the development of biological flexible drivers is introduced while emphasizing on their advantages over traditional drivers.Second,up-to-date works regarding biohybrid robots are reviewed in detail from three aspects:biological driving sources,actuator materials,and structures with associated control methodologies.Finally,the potential future applications and major challenges of biohybrid robots are explored.

Swelling Performance Studies of Acrylamide/Potassium 3-Sulfopropyl Methacrylate/Sodium Alginate/Bentonite Biohybrid Sorbent Hydrogels in Binary Mixtures of Water-Solvent

In this study, it was to investigate the swelling performance of novel biohybrid composite hydrogel sorbents containing acrylamide/potassium 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate/sodium alginate/bentonite in water and binary mixtures of water-solvent. Novel hydrogels were synthesized with free radical solution polymerization by using ammonium persulfate/N,N,N’,N’-tetramethylethylenediamine as redox initiating pair in presence of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate as crosslinker. Swelling experiments were performed in water and binary mixtures of water-solvent (acetone, methanol and tetrahydrofuran) at 25°C, gravimetrically. Some swelling and diffusion properties of the hydrogels were calculated and they were discussed for the biohybrid/hybrid hydrogel systems prepared under various formulations. It has been seen the lower equilibrium percentage swelling ratio values (62% - 124%) in all solvent compositions in comparison with the equilibrium percentage swelling ratio values in water (718% - 2055%). Consequently, the hydrogel systems developed in this study could serve as a potential device for water and water-solvent binary mixtures.

Water Sorption Behaviors of Novel Biohybrid Hydrogels as Effective Sorbents in Water-Solvent Binary Mixtures

Novel sorbent hydrogels containing acrylamide/sodium vinylsulfonate, carboxymethyl cellulose and zeolite were synthesized with free radical solution polymerization by using ammonium persulfate/N,N,N’,N’-tetramethylethyle-nediamine as redox initiating pair in presence of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate as crosslinker. It was to investigate the water uptake properties of series of the novel hydrogels, the semi IPNs and the hybrid/biohybrid composite hydrogel sorbents synthesized in this study. Water uptake studies were performed in water and in water-solvent (acetone, methanol and tetrahydrofuran) binary mixtures at 25°C, gravimetrically. Some swelling and diffusion parameters were calculated and discussed. It has been seen that the lower equilibrium swelling factor values in all solvent compositions in comparison with the equilibrium swelling factor values in water.

用于生物医学应用的基于微藻的生物杂化材料的合理设计和开发

微藻是一种体积微小的真核生物,可通过叶绿素a的光合作用将二氧化碳转化为多种生物活性物质。在过去的十年中,有关活体微藻和其他生物相容性成分组成的生物杂化材料在解决许多医学难题中显示出巨大的潜力,如肿瘤治疗、组织重建和药物输送。固定在常规生物材料中的微藻可以长时间维持其光合活性从而在局部提供氧气,同时也可作为调节细胞活性的生物相容性界面材料。微藻的运动性还激发了生物杂交机器人的发展,其中药物分子可通过非共价键吸附结合至微藻表面,并通过精确控制其运动轨迹将药物输送到目标区域。此外,微藻的自发荧光、趋光性和生物质生产可以整合到具有多种功能的新型生物杂化材料的设计中;通过基因工程改造的微藻可以赋予生物杂交材料新的特性,如特异性细胞靶向能力和从藻类细胞中局部释放重组蛋白——这些技术技术有望促进微藻基生物杂交材料(MBBM)在多个生物医学领域的临床应用。本文总结了MBBM的制造、生理学和运动能力;然后,回顾了MBBM近年来在生物医学领域的典型应用报告;最后,对MBBM的挑战和未来前景进行了讨论。

Boosting solar hydrogen production via electrostatic interaction mediated E.coli-TiO_(2−x)biohybrid system

Hydrogen is garnering growing attention as a green energy source with zero carbon emissions.However,most hydrogen production technologies still rely on the consumption of fossil fuels and are therefore unsustainable.This has driven the search for more environmentally friendly methods of hydrogen production.In this work,we present an innovative approach to enhance hydrogen generation via electrostatic interaction in the Escherichia coli and defective titanium dioxide(TiO_(2−x))biohybrids.Our method involves narrowing the forbidden bandwidth of TiO2 while introducing defect bands into its conduction band to facilitate visible light absorption and efficient charge separation.This biohybrid system,consisting of E.coli and TiO_(2−x),demonstrates a remarkable capability to produce 1.25 mmol of hydrogen within a 3-h timeframe under visible light irradiation.This accomplishment signifies a 3.31-fold rise in hydrogen production in comparison to E.coli,signifying a substantial enhancement in hydrogen production efficiency.Furthermore,we delve into the alterations in biological metabolites associated with hydrogen production and the changes in electron transfer in different biohybrid systems.It provides valuable insights into the understanding of the intrinsic mechanisms that drive the process.This work introduces a novel and promising avenue for achieving this exciting goal.

健康和医学领域的人工智能:期许、伦理挑战和治理（英文）

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly being applied to a wide range of fields,including medicine,and has been considered as an approach that may augment or substitute human professionals in primary healthcare.However,AI also raises several challenges and ethical concerns.In this article,the author investigates and discusses three aspects of AI in medicine and healthcare:the application and promises of AI,special ethical concerns pertaining to AI in some frontier fields,and suggestive ethical governance systems.Despite great potentials of frontier AI research and development in the field of medical care,the ethical challenges induced by its applications has put forward new requirements for governance.To ensure “trustworthy” AI applications in healthcare and medicine,the creation of an ethical global governance framework and system as well as special guidelines for frontier AI applications in medicine are suggested.The most important aspects include the roles of governments in ethical auditing and the responsibilities of stakeholders in the ethical governance system.

快速温和有效的壳聚糖生物矿化方法探讨

研究利用快速、温和、有效的生物矿化方法制备了壳聚糖纳米羟基磷灰石杂化海绵材料。在矿化过程中使用乙醇-水混合溶剂来控制纳米羟基磷灰石晶体的相变、生长及形态,利用尿素的分解来控制体系的pH值。通过XRD、TEM、FT-IR和SEM对海绵结晶、组成及形貌进行了表征,通过压缩强度测试检测了矿化前后海绵的力学强度变化。结果表明高结晶度和取向度的羟基磷灰石晶体能够迅速有效地沉积在壳聚糖海绵的表面,并且力学强度显著提高,压缩强度和压缩模量分别达到(2.42±0.006)和(29.29±1.25)MPa。本矿化方法可以推广到其它天然生物材料及器械的生物矿化。

Abiotic-Biological Hybrid Systems for CO2 Conversion to Value-Added Chemicals and Fuels

Abiotic-biological hybrid systems that combine the advantages of abiotic catalysis and biotransformation for the conversion of carbon dioxide(CO2)to value-added chemicals and fuels have emerged as an appealing way to address the global energy and environmental crisis caused by increased CO2 emission.We illustrate the recent progress in this field.Here,we first review the natural CO2 fixation pathways for an in-depth understanding of the biological CO2 transformation strategy and why a sustainable feed of reducing power is important.Second,we review the recent progress in the construction of abiotic-biological hybrid systems for CO2 transformation from two aspects:(i)microbial electrosynthesis systems that utilize electricity to support whole-cell biological CO2 conversion to products of interest and(ii)photosynthetic semiconductor biohybrid systems that integrate semiconductor nanomaterials with CO2-fixing microorganisms to harness solar energy for biological CO2 transformation.Lastly,we discuss potential approaches for further improvement of abiotic-biological hybrid systems.

人工多元产甲烷系统的设计与构建研究进展

随着厌氧消化技术的兴起,生物甲烷作为一种供热与发电的优质能源被广泛关注。废弃物厌氧消化制备生物甲烷至少涉及4个阶段的复杂过程,存在着周期长、转化效率低和能耗高等3个主要技术瓶颈,高效的生物甲烷转化需要更深刻的微观机制剖析和更合理的反应体系设计。从传统混菌厌氧消化技术存在的潜在问题出发,总结了人工生物互营产甲烷体系的特征,阐释了混菌厌氧消化系统的种间电子传递机制,同时提出运用先进合成生物学策略构建高效的产甲烷微生物,解析了电极、半导体元件引入厌氧多细胞产甲烷系统形成新型甲烷光电转化策略的优势,为构建高效稳定的人工多元产甲烷多细胞系统提供理论指导和技术支撑。

材料-生物杂化体的光驱生物催化

材料-生物杂化体的光驱生物催化,又称为半人工光合作用,利用高效捕获光能的材料与高选择性的生物催化相结合,从而实现光能到化学能高效、高特异性的转化。天然光合系统光能到化学能的转换效率低,进而发展了光能捕获和转换效率更高的人工光合作用,然而人工光合系统很难实现特异性合成高能量密度、高附加值的多碳化合物。基于材料-生物杂化体构建的半人工光合作用,同时具备材料和生物系统两者的优势,实现优势互补,为光能到化学能的转化提供新的机遇和应用。本文详细介绍了材料-生物杂化体的构建方式,杂化体通过光吸收剂与催化剂进行复合,其复合方式包括以天然光系统作为光吸收剂与纳米催化剂相结合,和以材料作为光吸收剂与酶或微生物全细胞催化剂相结合;分别总结不同复合方式的研究进展、不同系统之间的优缺点以及不同杂化体的应用方向,并对未来发展方向进行了展望。

一种骨骼肌驱动的类弹簧生物混合游泳机器人

由活性生物体和软材料骨架构成的生物混合机器人能够响应外部激励并且智能地应对复杂环境,受到越来越多的关注,已成为机器人领域的研究热点和学术前沿.本文构建了一种骨骼肌驱动的类弹簧生物混合游泳机器人,它在电刺激作用下可以实现单向游动.该生物混合游泳机器人由类弹簧软骨架、环状骨骼肌生物软体驱动器和薄膜鳍结构组成.系统的实验研究表明,所培养的环状骨骼肌生物软体驱动器在电刺激下可产生较大的收缩变形和主动收缩力,所组装制备的类弹簧生物混合游泳机器人在电刺激下可在液体环境中实现单向游动前进.这些结果将为设计复杂的生物混合机器人提供科学依据,未来在药物输送、原位活检等医疗健康领域具有重要应用前景.

Biosynthetic CdS-Thiobacillus thioparus hybrid for solar-driven carbon dioxide fixation

Synergistically combining biological whole-cell bacteria with man-made semiconductor materials innovates the way for sustainable solar-driven CO_(2)fixation,showing great promise to break through the bottleneck in traditional chemical photocatalyst systems.However,most of the biohybrids require uneconomical organic nutrients and anaerobic conditions for the successful cultivation of the bacteria to sustain the CO_(2)fixation,which severely limits their economic viability and applicability for practical application.Herein,we present an inorganic-biological hybrid system composed of obligate autotrophic bacteria Thiobacillus thioparus(T.thioparus)and CdS nanoparticles(NPs)biologically precipitated on the bacterial surface,which can achieve efficient CO_(2)fixation based entirely on cost-effective inorganic salts and without the restriction of anaerobic conditions.The optimized interface between CdS NPs and T.thioparus formed by biological precipitation plays an essential role for T.thioparus efficiently receiving photogenerated electrons from CdS NPs and thus changing the autotrophic way from chemoautotroph to photoautotroph.As a result,the CdS-T.thioparus biohybrid realizes the solar-driven CO_(2)fixation to produce multi-carbon glutamate synthase and biomass under visible-light irradiation with CO_(2)as the only carbon source.This work provides significant inspiration for the further exploration of the solar-driven self-replicating biocatalytic system to achieve CO_(2)fixation and conversion.

Development of micro-and nanorobotics: A review

Micro-and nanorobotic is an emerging field of research arising from the cross-fusion of micro/nano technology and robotics and has become an important part of robotics. Micro-and nanorobots have the advantages of small size, low weight, large thrust-toweight ratio, high flexibility, and high sensitivity. Due to the characteristics distinguishing from macroscopic robots, micro-and nanorobots have stimulated the research interest of the scientific community and opened up numerous application fields such as drug delivery and disease diagnosis. In the past 30 years, research on micro-and nanorobots has made considerable progress.This article provides a comprehensive overview of the development of these robots. First, the application of the robots is reviewed. Then, the key components of the robots are discussed separately, covering their actuation, design, fabrication and control. In addition, from the perspectives of intelligence and sensing, clinical applications, materials and performance, the challenges that may be encountered in the development of such robots in the future are discussed. Finally, the entire article is summarized, and concepts for future micro-and nanorobots are described.

Advances in 3D Bioprinting

Three-dimensional(3D)bioprinting has emerged as a promising approach for engineering functional tissues and organs by layer-by-layer precise positioning of biological materials,living cells,and biochemical components.Compared with nonbiological printing,3D bioprinting involves additional complexities and technical challenges owing to the processing of living cells,such as the appropriate biomaterials that fulfill the requirements for both printability and functionality.In this review,we first introduce the development course of 3D bioprinting,highlighting innovative forms of living building blocks and advances in enabling techniques of 3D bioprinting.We then summarize the state-of-the-art advancements in 3D bioprinting for biomedical applications,including macroscale tissue or organ bioprinting,disease modeling,microphysiological systems,biobots,and bioprinting in space.Despite the rapid development of 3D bioprinting over the past decades,most 3D bioprinted tissue or organ constructs are still far from being suitable for clinical translation,and it is necessary for the field of bioprinting to shift its focus from shape mimicking towards functionality development.Therefore,we provide our perspectives on this burgeoning field with an emphasis on functional maturation post printing and translational applications at the bedside.

Living electronics

Living electronics that converges the unique functioning modality of biological and electrical circuits has the potential to transform both fundamental biophysical/biochemical inquiries and translational biomedical/engineering applications.This article will review recent progress in overcoming the intrinsic physiochemical and signaling mismatches at biological/electronic interfaces,with specific focus on strategic approaches in forging the functional synergy through:(1)biohybrid electronics,where genetically encoded bio-machineries are hybridized with electronic transducers to facilitate the translation/interpretation of biologically derived signals;and(2)biosynthetic electronics,where biogenic electron pathways are designed and programmed to bridge the gap between internal biological and external electrical circuits.These efforts are reconstructing the way that artificial electronics communicate with living systems,and opening up new possibilities for many cross-disciplinary applications in biosynthesis,sensing,energy transduction,and hybrid information processing.

新型非均相催化剂纳米金属杂化酶的研究进展

随着生物技术、电子传感技术、纳米技术的发展,新型非均相催化剂-纳米金属杂化酶的研究和开发逐渐走进学者们的视野.纳米金属杂化酶不仅具有高催化活性、高稳定性,并且可以在一定程度上改善原酶的底物特异性、化学选择性、立体选择性及区域选择性等,同时可提高酶的可操作性,便于重复利用.我们就纳米金属杂化酶的设计与合成策略、金属纳米粒子的种类、表征方法、杂化酶的特征及应用等方面进行综述报道,希望可以为学者们提供新的思路和思考,促进多学科的融合发展.

构建半人工光合系统实现可见光驱动专性有机卤化物呼吸菌去除三氯乙烯

发展新型绿色、高效、低能耗和可持续的微生物修复技术用于处理氯代烯烃污染十分必要.专性有机卤化物呼吸菌能专一高效地去除氯代有机污染物,但在实际修复过程中电子供体如氢气的不足限制了其应用,因此寻找合适的供氢方式十分重要.利用光催化水解产氢为微生物提供电子供体可能是一种理想方式,然而国内外尚未有半人工光合系统驱动微生物脱卤呼吸的相关研究.本文利用脱卤拟球菌Dehalococcoides mccartyi菌株195(Dhc195)与硼掺杂石墨相氮化碳纳米片构建了B-C3N4-NS-Dhc195生物杂化体系,探究可见光驱动其对三氯乙烯(TCE)进行厌氧还原脱氯的可行性.研究结果表明,在(25±5) W m^(-2)的低强度可见光下该生物杂化体系可持续稳定地将TCE逐步还原脱氯至乙烯(ETH),脱氯速率为(1.13±0.13)μmol L^(-1)d^(-1);该杂化体系内检测到氢气生成,对Dhc195脱氯的用氢量进行衡算,其氢气利用率达84%.这表明可见光下光催化剂分解水产氢,脱氯菌利用氢气作为电子供体还原TCE,从而实现可见光驱动微生物脱卤呼吸.本研究提出了一种间接利用光能实现微生物处理氯代有机污染物的方法,对氯代有机污染物的绿色、低碳、可持续治理和修复具有启发意义.

可见光驱动Methanosarcina barkeri-天然碳基半导体产甲烷性能及机制

利用半人工光合系统(非光合微生物-纳米半导体生物杂化体系)将二氧化碳转化为高热值的甲烷有助于缓解全球温室效应和能源危机.作为生物杂化体系的关键组分,纳米半导体颗粒的结构及性质显著影响生物杂化体系的性能.本研究以油菜花粉为原料,成功构建Methanosarcina barkeri-天然碳基半导体生物杂化体系(M. barkeriNCS),并将其应用于二氧化碳还原产甲烷过程.结果表明,所制备的天然碳基半导体具有可见光响应好、孔体积大等优势.在可见光(1.0±0.2 mW/cm2)照射下, M. barkeri-NCS生物杂化体系具有良好的光电性能,其甲烷产量最高可达51±4.5μmol/g.实时荧光定量多聚合酶链式反应结果进一步显示, M. barkeri膜结合氢酶和细胞色素相关基因表达显著上调,尤其是EchB(2.47±0.25倍)和VhtC(2.83±0.15倍),这表明这些基因在生物杂化体系光生电子传递-捕获-利用过程中起着关键作用.该研究结果有望为构建高效的半人工光合系统提供理论支撑.