Mechanical stimulation of cells with electroactive polymer-based soft actuators

Mechanical stimulation has an important effect on cell morphology and functions. Thus, it is of great research value to develop equipment and technologies for mechanical stimulation of cells. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) are a popular class of soft smart materials developed in the last 30 years. Compared to some traditional smart materials, EAPs have remarkable advantages such as high flexibility, large deformation, light weight, and fast response. Hence, EAP-based soft actuators have been widely used in biomedicine, biomimetic robots, flexible operating instruments, etc. Besides, they are also emerging in the field of biomechanics. In this review, we introduce the primary characteristics and operating mechanism of EAP-based actuators, and summarize a series of representative advances in EAP-based mechanical stimulation of cells and broadly discuss some other biomedical applications of EAP-based actuators.