Microdifferentiation is – in short – the structure of tiny things, including microscopic and nanomirror objects and patterns. In addition to fields such as electronics and photonics, microstructures have important potential in medical and biomedical engineering – but first, researchers also need to develop biologically compatible technologies. One team of researchers believes that a key step towards this goal involves tattoos.
To test the technology needed to build microscopic biocompatible devices, Chinese researchers found a way to give tardigrades tattoos. If you think this is weird, wait. Their method, detailed in a study published in the journal Nano Letters in late March, may have significant implications for the development of life microbiology, such as microbial robots.
In fact, the inference, also known as the water bear, is not only a “strong” creature. They are about 0.02 inches (0.5 mm) octopus, almost indestructible. Not surprisingly, their amazing resistance to hunger, freezing temperatures, radiation, pressure and space vacuum inspired scientists to investigate whether humans could learn something or two from it.
In a recent study, researchers dehydrated to induce an invisible biological state, a kind of semi-dead hibernation. They placed the submersible on a surface cooled below -226 degrees Fahrenheit (-143 degrees Celsius) and covered with tiny organisms in Anisole, an aromatic organic compound.
Using concentrated electron beams, the researchers drew micropatterns on programs such as squares, lines, dots and even university logos. The frozen arc layer directly exposed to the beam forms a new chemical compound that adheres to the tardigrade. The team then heated the Tardigrade to room temperature under vacuum, while the frozen benzylene did not react with the sublimated electron beam (turned into a gas), leaving only the pattern produced by the new chemical – the tattoo. Then, they replenished the postponed moisture.
The good news is that tattoos don’t seem to affect the recovery show. The bad news is that only about 40% of the lurking survives, but researchers say this can be improved further. However, research shows that researchers can use this method to print microelectronics or sensors onto living tissue.
“This approach provides new insights into the resilience of potential applications in cryopreservation, biomedical and astronomy,” the researchers wrote in the study. Cryopreservation is the practice of protecting biological substances at very low temperatures. “In addition, combining micro/nanoization technology with living organisms can catalyze advances in biosensing, bionics and biological microbiology.” Mosaicism involves imitating the process of nature in human creation.
A micro-robot is a tiny robot that can perform tasks within an organism, such as providing drugs, monitoring and treating diseases. Therefore, we can assume that live micro-robots (such as microbial robots) are hybrid robots that connect synthesis techniques and live cells to obtain more useful features.
“With this technology, we not only create microtatoes on the show, but also extend this capability to a variety of organisms, including bacteria,” Ding Zhao, co-author of the paper and a researcher at the Westlake Optoelectronics Institute, said in an American Chemical Society statement from the American Chemical Society.
“This is challenging for model living things,” said Gavin King, a researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri. The statement attributes King to the technology used in the invention research, called ice lithography. “This advancement heralds a new generation of biomaterial devices and biophysical sensors previously only existed in science fiction,” he concluded.
