Biomimetic Cilia Fabrication

We fabricate our biomimetic cilia using a porous polycarbonate track-etched membrane as a template.  The magnetic nanoparticle/soft-polymer composite material is deposited into the template’s pores, then cured.  We then dissolve the polycarbonate membrane to free the array, which can then be actuated by externally applied permanent magnets.  For details see our Nano Letters publication, “Magnetically Actuated Nanorod Arrays as Biomimetic Cilia”.