Directional Sensitivity Analysis of a Hydrogel-Supported Artificial Hair Cell

An artificial hair cell sensor imitates the function of cilia in natural hair cells in order to detect surrounding fluid displacement. Here, a novel structure for creating artificial hair cell sensors uses established methods of creating lipid bilayers at the interfaces of millimeter scale hydrogel shapes. This paper describes the fabrication of the sensor components and the manner in which they are assembled and tested. The hair’s vibration can be detected by monitoring changes in the current produced by mechanical fluctuations in the bilayer. The cross-sectional geometry of the hair can be changed to enable directional sensitivity. Spectral analysis of the sensor current response indicates that frequencies and magnitudes change when a flattened hair is excited in different directions. Finally, the sensor is shown to become more sensitive with applied potential across the bilayer. Results agree with similar studies on this phenomenon.