This study focuses on the development of a novel high-energy density actuator based on biomimicry principles. The system proposed here draws inspiration from plant motor cells and provides proof of concept for a highly configurable reversible osmotic actuator through the application of voltage-gated ion channels and action potentials. Computational methods are employed to measure the effectiveness of the proposed system in comparison to similar novel actuators.
AbidorIGArakelyanVBChernomordikLV. (1979) Electric breakdown of bilayer lipid membranes: the main experimental facts and their qualitative discussion. Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics6: 37–52.
2.
DisalvoASiddiqiFATienTH (1989) Membrane transport with emphasis on water and nonelectrolytes in experimental lipid bilayers and biomembranes. In: BegaG (ed.) Water Transport in Biological Membranes, vol. 1. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc., pp.41–75.
3.
EndresenLPHallKH⊘yeJS. (2000) A theory for the membrane potential of living cells. European Biophysics Journal29: 90–103.
4.
FournierRL (2007) Basic Transport Phenomena in Biomedical Engineering. New York: Taylor and Francis.
5.
FreemanEWeilandLM (2009) High energy density nastic materials: parameters for tailoring active response. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures20(2): 233–243.
6.
FreemanEWeilandLMMengWS (2010) Application of proteins in burst delivery systems. Smart Materials and Structure19: 09401.
7.
GajdanowiczPMichardESandmannM. (2010) Potassium (K+) gradients serve as a mobile energy source in plant vascular tissues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America108: 864–869.
8.
HaferkampSHaaseWAndrewAP. (2009) Efficient light harvesting by photosystem II requires an optimized protein packing density in grana thylakoids. Journal of Biological Chemistry285: 7020–7028.
9.
HedrichRMoranOContiF. (1995) Inward rectifier potassium channels in plants differ from their animal counterparts in response to voltage and channel modulators. European Biophysics Journal24: 107–115.
10.
HeinemannSHContiFStuhmerW. (1987) Effects of hydrostatic pressure on membrane processes. Journal of General Physiology90: 765–778.
11.
HodgkinALHuxleyAFKatzB (1952) Measurement of current-voltage relations in the membrane of the giant axon of Loligo. Journal of Physiology (London)116: 424–448.
12.
HomisonC (2006) Coupled transport/hyperelastic model for high energy density nastic materials. Master’s Thesis, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
13.
HopkinsonDP (2007) Measurements and modeling of the failure pressure of bilayer lipid membranes. PhD Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
14.
KeiferDWSpanswickRM (1978) Activity of the electrogenic pump in Chara coralline as inferred from measurements of the membrane potential, conductance, and potassium permeability. Plant Physiology62: 653–661.
15.
KurusuTSakuraiYMiyaoA. (2004) Identification of a putative voltage-gated Ca2+-permeable channel (OsTPC1) involved in Ca2+ influx and regulation of growth and development in rice. Plant and Cell Physiology45: 693–702.
LeighRAJonesRGW (1984) A hypothesis relating critical potassium concentrations for growth to the distribution and functions of this ion in the plant cell. New Phytologist97: 1–13.
18.
MatthewsLSundaresanVBGiurgiutiuV. (2006) Bioenergetics and mechanical actuation analysis with membrane transport experiments for use in biomimetic nastic structures. Journal of Material Research21: 2058–2066.
19.
MaurelC (1997) Aquaporins and water permeability of plant membranes. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology48: 399–429.
20.
MoranNEhrensteinGIwasaK. (1988) Potassium channels in motor cells of Samanea saman. Plant Physiology88: 643–648.
21.
NernstW (1888) Zur Kinetik der in Losung befindlichen Korper, Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie <Leipzig>, 2, S. 613–637.
22.
NielsenCH (2009) Biomimeitc membranes for sensor and separation applications. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry395: 697–718.
23.
SchroederJIHagiwaraS (1989) Cytosolic calcium regulates ion channels in the plasma membrane ofViciafaba guard cells. Letters to Nature338: 427–430.
24.
SchultzSG (1980) Basic Principles of Membrane Transport. New York: Cambridge University Press.
25.
SkotheimJMMahadevanL (2005) Physical limits and design principles for plant and fungal movements. Science308: 1308.
26.
SuYLinLPisanoAP (2002) A water-powered osmotic microactuator. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems11(6): 736–742.
27.
SukhovVVodeneevV (2009) A mathematical model of action potential in cells of vascular plants. Journal of Membrane Biology232: 59–67.
28.
SundaresanVBLeoDJ (2006) Chemo-mechanical model for actuation based on biological membranes. Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures17: 863–871.
29.
SundaresanVBLeoDJ (2008) Modeling and characterization of a chemomechanical actuator using protein transporter. Sensors and Actuators B131: 383–393.
30.
TimoshenkoSWoinowsky-KriegerS (1959) Theory of Plates and Shells. New York: McGraw-Hill.
