Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 9;12(1):5349. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25582-8.
There is great interest in the development of micromotors which can convert energy to motion in sub-millimeter dimensions. Micromachines take the micromotor concept a step further, comprising complex systems in which multiple components work in concert to effectively realize complex mechanical tasks. Here we introduce light-driven micromotors and micromachines that rely on optoelectronic tweezers (OET). Using a circular micro-gear as a unit component, we demonstrate a range of new functionalities, including a touchless micro-feed-roller that allows the programming of precise three-dimensional particle trajectories, multi-component micro-gear trains that serve as torque- or velocity-amplifiers, and micro-rack-and-pinion systems that serve as microfluidic valves. These sophisticated systems suggest great potential for complex micromachines in the future, for application in microrobotics, micromanipulation, microfluidics, and beyond.
人们对能够将能量转化为亚毫米尺寸运动的微型马达的发展非常感兴趣。微型机械将微型马达的概念更进一步，包含了多个组件协同工作以有效实现复杂机械任务的复杂系统。在这里，我们介绍了依赖光电镊子 (OET) 的光驱动微型马达和微型机械。我们使用圆形微齿轮作为单元组件，展示了一系列新功能，包括无接触微进纸辊，可实现精确的三维粒子轨迹编程、作为扭矩或速度放大器的多组件微齿轮系、以及用作微流控阀的微齿条和小齿轮系统。这些复杂的系统表明，未来在微机器人技术、微操作、微流控等领域具有应用潜力的复杂微型机械具有巨大的潜力。
