Development of a Biomimetic Excitable Media Tube Pump Using Ionic Fluid Polymer Gel

The purpose of this research is to create a biomimetic excitable cell from electroactive polymers, basing its characteristics on the cardiac myocyte. An array of these artificial cells will ultimately be combined to form a synthetic tissue capable of electrical and mechanical wave propagation. This work is novel and its potential applications are very broad, including the creation of peristaltic tube pumps. Electroactive polymers are used in combination with electrodes to drive and control the flow of ions within an artificial polymer gel cell. The polymer cell body consists mainly of ionic fluid polymer gel (IFPG), a medium which mimics the intra and extracellular spaces in vivo by being rich in mobile ions. An electroactive polymer gating membrane made of polypyrrole (PPy) controls ion flux within our cell, and embedded electrodes provide electrical fields directing ionic movement, thus reproducing the cellular characteristics of excitability, refractoriness and resting state. The preliminary work for a novel synthetic excitable cell has been demonstrated, with a conceptual design of the cell, the ability to deposit PPy onto bucky gel, in addition to the incorporation of carbon nanotubes into PPy to increase its gating speed. More experiments on the feasibility of each component are underway.