Conducting polymer actuators for medical devices and cell mechanotransduction

Actuators made of conjugated polymers such as polypyrrole are interesting candidates as active elements in medical devices since they can be fabricated in small sizes and operated in saline solutions. In addition they can be microfabricated and integrated on silicon chips for instance for lab-on-a-chip and cell biology applications. Here, devices comprising polypyrrole (PPy) microactuators for mechanical stimulation of single cells are presented. In addition, novel interfacing and patterning methods for conjugated polymer (micro-) actuators are reported that open up for enhanced functionality and increased complexity of micromanipulators and microrobotics for instance for biomedicine.