We propose an innovative skin-over-liquid system made of a periodic array of highly compliant microbumps actuated through an electrode-free electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pressure. We demonstrate that these structures are highly repeatable and are capable to swell and deflate easily under a simple thermal stimulation driven by pyroelectric effect, thus providing a challenging platform that can be actively controlled at microscale. We show the proof of principle by swelling these microbumps for stimulating mechanically live cells in vitro, thus opening the route to more reliable and easy to accomplish assays in the field of mechanobiology.
- O. Gennari
- R. Rega
- S. Grilli
