Gold-covered onion cells can serve as artificial muscles

Published May 6, 2015 6:15pm

Researchers from the National Taiwan University have found a way to create artificial muscles from onion epidermis cells which, unlike artificial muscles made from other materials, can bend and contract at the same time.

“The initial goal was to develop an engineered microstructure in artificial muscles for increasing the (the amount the muscle can bend or stretch when triggered),” lead researcher Wen-Pin Shih said in an article at AlphaGalileo. “One day, we found that the onion's cell structure and its dimensions were similar to what we had been making.”

The study was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

The onion’s epidermis is the thin layer just beneath the onion’s skin. The researchers used acid to remove the cells’ hemicellulose, the protein that functions as support in the cell wall. Afterwards, they coated both sides of the onion epidermis with gold such that the top and bottom gold electrodes differed in thickness.

Sending a low voltage made the cells expand, flexing towards the thicker bottom layer. A high voltage does the opposite, making the cells contract and flex towards the top layer.

At the moment, tweezers powered with the artificial muscles can pick up a cotton ball. The researchers hope to increase the power of the artificial muscles in future tests. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News

Tags: biology, onions, gold, cyborg