Rotational maneuver of ferromagnetic nanowires for cell manipulation

1-D magnetic nanowires provide a powerful tool for investigating biological systems because such nanomaterials possess unique magnetic properties, which allow effective manipulation of cellular and subcellular objects. In this study, we report the rotational maneuver of ferromagnetic nanowires and their applications in cell manipulation. The rotational maneuver is studied under two different suspension conditions. The rotation of nanowires in the fluid is analyzed using Stokes flow assumption. Experimental results show that when the nanowires develop contacts with the bottom surfaces, the rotational maneuver under a modest external magnetic field can generate rapid lateral motion. The floating nanowires, on the other hand, do not exhibit substantial lateral displacements. Cell manipulation using skeletal myoblasts C2C12 shows that living cells can be manipulated efficiently on the bottom surface by the rotational maneuver of the attached nanowires. We also demonstrate the use of rotational maneuver of nanowires for creating 3-D nanowire clusters and multicellular clusters. This study is expected to add to the knowledge of nanowire-based cell manipulation and contribute to a full spectrum of control strategies for efficient use of nanowires for micro-total-analysis. It may also facilitate mechanobiological studies at cellular level, and provide useful insights for development of 3-D in vivo-like multicellular models for various applications in tissue engineering.