In-Petri-dish acoustic vortex tweezers

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Acoustic Manipulation
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Acoustic tweezers offer non-contact manipulation for biological research.
• Existing platforms lack precision and multi-DoF control in Petri dishes, hindering lab integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an acoustic vortex tweezers platform for precise, multi-DoF manipulation within Petri dishes.
• To enable contactless, multifunctional handling of micro- to millimeter-scale objects.

Main Methods:

• Utilized acoustic holography to generate focused acoustic vortex beams via holographic lenses.
• Employed lenses with varying topological charges for adjustable beam diameters.
• Integrated a 3-DoF linear motion module for high-resolution object translation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated contactless trapping and manipulation of micro-objects of various sizes.
• Successfully concentrated and agglomerated flowing micro-objects.
• Showcased high-resolution translation of particles and agglomerates along complex paths.
• Achieved trapping, rotation, and translation of a zebrafish larva in multiple orientations.

Conclusions:

• The developed in-Petri-dish acoustic vortex tweezers provide versatile, high-resolution contactless manipulation.
• This platform is poised to become a valuable tool for handling biomaterials in biomedical and biological research.