Novel micro gripping, probing, and sensing devices for single-cell surgery

Area of Science:

• Micro-robotics
• Biotechnology
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Advancements in micro-robotics are crucial for precise manipulation of biological samples at the cellular level.
• Current technologies face limitations in nanoscale probing, injection, imaging, and surgery on single cells.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe novel micro-robotic devices for single-cell nanoscale applications.
• To present the development of key components for a micro-robotic system.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) polymer grippers actuated underwater.
• Development of a probe-etching technique for shaping fiber probes to nanoscale tip diameters.
• Integration of a novel Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric polymer force sensing system.

Main Results:

• MEMS polymer grippers demonstrated actuation underwater with large deflection, gripping 500µm embryonic cells at ~2V.
• Fiber probes were sharpened to nanoscale tip diameters (<1µm) with controllable tip angles (2.7–9.7 degrees).
• A PVDF force sensing system achieved sub-µN resolution for bio-manipulation and injection tasks.

Conclusions:

• The developed micro-robotic components represent significant progress towards a functional system for single-cell nanoscale operations.
• These technologies hold promise for advanced applications in cell biology, diagnostics, and microsurgery.