UC3M | Magnetic materials for biomedicine and soft robotics

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When we make decisions, run, heal a wound or our heart beats, millions of cells work collectively to enable us to perform our functions. We think of these biological processes as complicated physicochemical systems that are difficult to understand. However, these cells can be understood as “little people” performing their functions on a microscopic scale (remember that animated series Once Upon a Time the Human Body). Just as we run more easily on a running track than on the sand of a beach, cells will also do their jobs better if their environment is friendlier. In this visit to our laboratory, we will consider future solutions to control the environment of our cells and be able to guide them. During the visit, we will test smart materials (magneto-active) on different experimental equipment, 3D print these materials and finally use them to stimulate cells! This activity is developed in the framework of 4D-BIOMAP (Biomechanical Stimulation based on 4D Printed Magneto-Active Polymer) a project funded by the European Research Council through an ERC Starting Grant of the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020 (GA 947723). In addition, it is developed in collaboration with the Academia Joven de España.