Recently, Professor Min Qiu's research team has achieved a significant breakthrough at the intersection of micro/nanofabrication and biological sciences. The study by Zhirong Yang, a 2022 Ph.D. candidate, titled"Patterning on Living Tardigrades,"has been officially published in Nano Letters and selected as the cover article (Supplementary Cover) of the current issue. This research pioneers the integration of semiconductor manufacturing technology with biology, demonstrating that ice lithography—a derivative technique of electron-beam lithography—can be used to directly write micro/nanoscale patterns on living microscopic organisms.
Micro/nanofabrication technologies have profoundly transformed modern photonics and electronics. However, applying conventional micro/nanofabrication techniques to biological systems remains challenging due to inherent limitations, such as difficulties in conformal spin-coating, radiation damage, and the use of toxic solvents, which often render them incompatible with living organisms.
To overcome this bottleneck, the research team innovatively developed and applied ice lithography, successfully achieving in situ fabrication of micro/nanoscale patterns on living tardigrades (commonly known as "water bears"). The key steps of this method include: first, coating the surface of cryptobiotic tardigrades with a nanoscale ice film; then, using electron-beam exposure to transform specific regions of the ice film into stable solid patterns at room temperature. After reviving the tardigrades in a suitable environment, they could freely move while carrying these precisely fabricated patterns. This technique enables the in situ processing of arbitrary patterns with a minimum feature size of 72 nanometers. Moreover, these patterns exhibit excellent adhesion and stability even under external stresses such as stretching, rinsing, and soaking, demonstrating remarkable robustness and practical potential.
This research provides a novel technical pathway for applications in microbial sensing, bioinspired devices, and living microrobots, highlighting the vast potential of interdisciplinary integration between micro/nanofabrication and biological sciences.
Paper link:https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00378
