Magnetic control of AMB-1 magnetotactic bacteria for micromanipulation

Remotely actuated microrobots have the potential for biomedical applications such as targeted drug/cell delivery and biomanipulation. In this paper, we report the magnetic control of magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), i.e. AMB-1, using a low-strength uniform magnetic field and their performance for pick-and-place of magnetic microparticles in fluid. Furthermore, we demonstrate the assembly of several individual microparticles and the transportation using an AMB-1 bacterium. The force and torque generated by the AMB-1 are investigated. In addition, the assembled microparticles transported by the helical-shaped bacteria exhibits a dynamic helical pattern when they are propelled by the bacterium with a corkscrew motion. In addition, we demonstrate the disassembly of an individual microparticle payload from an AMB-1. The study on magnetic control of the AMB-1 bacteria and the dynamics of the transported microparticles pave the way for micromanipulation using AMB-1 bacteria.