Electrochembots

The ability to generate electric fields at small scales has assumed an increasingly important role in many fields of research including plasmonics-based sensing, micro- and nanofabrication, microfluidics and spintronics. The localized generation of electrical fields at extremely small scales has the potential to revolutionize the conventional methods for electrically stimulating cells. The scientific objective of our proposal is the development of miniaturized untethered devices capable of delivering electric currents to cells for the stimulation of their vital functions. To this end, we propose the construction of micro- and nanoscale magnetoelectric structures, which can be triggered using external magnetic fields. These small devices will consist of composite hybrid structures containing piezoelectric and magnetostrictive layers. By applying oscillating magnetic field in the presence of a bias field, the magnetostrictive part will deform and the generated stress will be transferred to the piezoelectric shell, which in turn becomes electrically polarized. Small devices capable of wirelessly generating electric fields offer a novel and innovative means of studying the electrical and electrochemical stimulation of cells. For instance, by concentrating electric fields at specific locations in a cell, the behavior of protein membrane components such as cell adhesion molecules or transport proteins could be altered to modulate the stiction of proliferating cells or the ion channel gating kinetics.