Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jul 10;109(28):11105-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1209288109. Epub 2012 Jun 25.
Techniques that can dexterously manipulate single particles, cells, and organisms are invaluable for many applications in biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics. Here, we demonstrate standing surface acoustic wave based "acoustic tweezers" that can trap and manipulate single microparticles, cells, and entire organisms (i.e., Caenorhabditis elegans) in a single-layer microfluidic chip. Our acoustic tweezers utilize the wide resonance band of chirped interdigital transducers to achieve real-time control of a standing surface acoustic wave field, which enables flexible manipulation of most known microparticles. The power density required by our acoustic device is significantly lower than its optical counterparts (10,000,000 times less than optical tweezers and 100 times less than optoelectronic tweezers), which renders the technique more biocompatible and amenable to miniaturization. Cell-viability tests were conducted to verify the tweezers' compatibility with biological objects. With its advantages in biocompatibility, miniaturization, and versatility, the acoustic tweezers presented here will become a powerful tool for many disciplines of science and engineering.
能够灵巧地操纵单个粒子、细胞和生物体的技术在生物学、化学、工程学和物理学的许多应用中是非常宝贵的。在这里，我们展示了基于驻波表面声波的“声镊”，它可以在单层微流控芯片中捕获和操纵单个微粒子、细胞和整个生物体（即秀丽隐杆线虫）。我们的声镊利用啁啾叉指换能器的宽共振带来实现对驻波声场的实时控制，从而实现对大多数已知微粒子的灵活操纵。我们的声设备所需的功率密度明显低于其光学对应物（比光镊低 10,000,000 倍，比光电镊低 100 倍），这使得该技术更具生物相容性，更易于小型化。进行了细胞存活试验以验证镊子与生物物体的兼容性。凭借其在生物相容性、小型化和多功能性方面的优势，这里介绍的声镊将成为许多科学和工程学科的有力工具。
