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arXiv · 2607.24565

Computational modelling reveals advantages of ventricular over atrial cardiomyocytes to power self-guided biorobots

Nathan Lilly·Guy S. Bewick·Claudiu Vasile Giuraniuc·Maria Elena Giannaccini
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Abstract

Solid tumours and other hypoxic regions are difficult to treat with conventional systemic drug delivery, which distributes therapeutics non-specifically and increases toxicity in off-target sites. Biohybrid microrobots driven by living cells offer a self-powered, bio-compatible solution to autonomous targeted delivery, however, existing platforms often require external stimuli to move and locate towards target zones. We present a computational model of an H-shaped biohybrid microrobot, actuated by neonatal rat cardiomyocytes coupled to the body through an anisotropic friction-ratchet generating a net forward locomotion. The model is simulated under normoxic straight-line conditions and hypoxic gradient-steering conditions for two distinct phenotypes, atrial and ventricular. Ventricular cells produce a $4.35\times$ increase in locomotion speed over atrial cells at an equivalent cost of transport and a $2.91\times$ greater heading response under an applied gradient, confirming that phenotype is an underexploited design variable. The computational model in this study shows autonomous, gradient-based steering in a cardiomyocyte-based platform and the effectiveness of treating cardiomyocyte phenotype as an explicit design parameter. These findings support the long-term feasibility of cardiomyocyte-driven microrobots for autonomous, self-targeted therapeutic delivery in hypoxic regions and as such offer a route to reducing systemic drug exposure relative to conventional treatment.

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Nathan Lilly, Guy S. Bewick, Claudiu Vasile Giuraniuc, Maria Elena Giannaccini. 2026-07-27. Computational modelling reveals advantages of ventricular over atrial cardiomyocytes to power self-guided biorobots. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24565

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