An autonomously swimming biohybrid fish designed with human cardiac biophysics

Abstract

Biohybrid systems have been developed to better understand the design principles and coordination mechanisms of biological systems. We consider whether two functional regulatory features of the heart—mechanoelectrical signaling and automaticity—could be transferred to a synthetic analog of another fluid transport system: a swimming fish. By leveraging cardiac mechanoelectrical signaling, we recreated reciprocal contraction and relaxation in a muscular bilayer construct where each contraction occurs automatically as a response to the stretching of an antagonistic muscle pair. Further, to entrain this closed-loop actuation cycle, we engineered an electrically autonomous pacing node, which enhanced spontaneous contraction. The biohybrid fish equipped with intrinsic control strategies demonstrated self-sustained body–caudal fin swimming, highlighting the role of feedback mechanisms in muscular pumps such as the heart and muscles.