It will create 3D microstructures made dynamic by magnetic fields
Launched by the MUR in the context of mission 4 "Education and Research" of the PNRR, the "Young Researchers" call awarded around 300 young and talented researchers, already winners of grants from the European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships grants or beneficiaries of the "Seal of Excellence", a quality mark awarded by the European Commission to project proposals that have been positively evaluated but cannot be financed due to budget depletion.
Among these there is Henry Lemma who, as a researcher at theTissue and Chemical Engineering Unit for Biomedical EngineeringUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, will be able to develop the project entitled "Magnetic Nanoparticle-Mediated 3D Microstructure Actuation Based on DNA Hybridization".
The aim of the study is to observe, for the first time, the interactions between cells and 3D microstructures "remotely actuated", the shape and flexibility of which change only by the action of an external magnetic field, which in no way alters the microenvironment in which the cells and structures are found.
Making the shape and mechanical properties of these structures modifiable would make it possible to replicate the complexity of biological systems and obtain gods proof of concept devices for the micro actuation of cells and the analysis of their mechanical behaviours.
"3D micro-printing – explains Eng. Headword – is a strategic objective in the field of manufacturing for industry and research, and represents a rapidly expanding technology. However, its potential is not yet fully exploited, as the relative motion between microstructured parts via magnetic fields remains an unsolved challenge."
The project will put into practice an interdisciplinary technique that will serve as a basis for further applications in advanced manufacturing, basic and applied sciences, but also in other key enabling technologies of the Horizon Europe programme.
