Electrothermally activated SU-8 microgripper for single cell manipulation in solution
08 Aug 2005-IEEE\/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (Binus University)-Vol. 14, Iss: 4, pp 857-863
TL;DR: In this paper, the SU-8-based micro gripper that can operate in physiological ionic solutions is presented, which consists of two "hot-and-cold" arm actuators that are fabricated in a two-mask surface micromachining process.
Abstract: The development of a SU-8-based microgripper that can operate in physiological ionic solutions is presented The electrothermally activated polymer gripper consists of two "hot-and-cold-arm" actuators that are fabricated in a two-mask surface micromachining process The high thermal expansion coefficient of SU-8 (52 ppm//spl deg/C) compared to silicon and metals, allows the actuation of the microgripper with small average temperature elevations (10 - 32/spl deg/C) at low voltages (1-2 V) The polymer microgripper can be used for the manipulation of single cells and other biological species in solution with minimal undesired interactions
Citations
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TL;DR: This article provides an in-depth review on the applications of microfluidic devices for cell-based assays in recent years, including micro cytometer, micro fluidic chemical cytometry, biochemical sensing chip, and whole cell sensing chip.
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523 citations
TL;DR: This work designs, fabricate, and characterize photopatterned, self-folding functional microgrippers that combine a swellable, photo-cross-linked pNIPAM-AAc soft-hydrogel with a nonswellable and stiff segmented polymer (polypropylene fumarate, PPF).
Abstract: Hydrogels such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (pNIPAM-AAc) can be photopatterned to create a wide range of actuatable and self-folding microstructures. Mechanical motion is derived from the large and reversible swelling response of this cross-linked hydrogel in varying thermal or pH environments. This action is facilitated by their network structure and capacity for large strain. However, due to the low modulus of such hydrogels, they have limited gripping ability of relevance to surgical excision or robotic tasks such as pick-and-place. Using experiments and modeling, we design, fabricate, and characterize photopatterned, self-folding functional microgrippers that combine a swellable, photo-cross-linked pNIPAM-AAc soft-hydrogel with a nonswellable and stiff segmented polymer (polypropylene fumarate, PPF). We also show that we can embed iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles into the porous hydrogel layer, allowing the microgrippers to be responsive and remotely guided using magnetic fields. Usi...
459 citations
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TL;DR: An overview of the field of microrobotics, including the distinct but related topics of micromanipulation andmicrorobots, is provided, while many interesting results have been shown to date.
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References
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TL;DR: Early developments in the field leading to the demonstration of cooling and trapping of neutral atoms in atomic physics and to the first use of optical tweezers traps in biology are reviewed.
Abstract: The techniques of optical trapping and manipulation of neutral particles by lasers provide unique means to control the dynamics of small particles. These new experimental methods have played a revolutionary role in areas of the physical and biological sciences. This paper reviews the early developments in the field leading to the demonstration of cooling and trapping of neutral atoms in atomic physics and to the first use of optical tweezers traps in biology. Some further major achievements of these rapidly developing methods also are considered.
1,346 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the characterization of a home-made negative photoresist developed by IBM is described, called SU-8, which can be produced with commercially available materials and has an outstanding aspect ratio near 15 for lines and 10 for trenches, combined with the electroplating of copper allow the fabrication of highly integrated electromagnetic coils.
Abstract: This paper describes the characterization of a home-made negative photoresist developed by IBM. This resist, called SU-8, can be produced with commercially available materials. Three blends were prepared for this article and some of its optical and mechanical properties are presented. One of its numerous advantages is the broad range of thicknesses which can be obtained in one spin: from 750 nm to with a conventional spin coater. The resist is exposed with a standard UV aligner and has an outstanding aspect ratio near 15 for lines and 10 for trenches. These ratios combined with the electroplating of copper allow the fabrication of highly integrated electromagnetic coils.
1,045 citations
"Electrothermally activated SU-8 mic..." refers background in this paper
...SU-8 is a highly crosslinked epoxy-type photo-patternable polymer with a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of 52 [21], relatively large elastic modulus ( ) [22], [23], and glass transition temperature above 200 [24]....
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TL;DR: The current status of polypyrrole-gold bilayer actuators that bend out of the plane of the wafer have been microfabricated in the laboratory, outlining the methods used to fabricate them.
Abstract: Conjugated polymer actuators can be operated in aqueous media, which makes them attractive for laboratories-on-a-chip and applications under physiological conditions. One of the most stable conjugated polymers under these conditions is polypyrrole, which can be patterned by means of standard photolithography. Polypyrrole-gold bilayer actuators that bend out of the plane of the wafer have been microfabricated in our laboratory. These can be used to move and position other microcomponents. Here we review the current status of these microactuators, outlining the methods used to fabricate them. We describe the devices that have been demonstrated as well as some potential future applications.
971 citations
"Electrothermally activated SU-8 mic..." refers background in this paper
...Pneumatically driven microcages [15], [16], thermally activated polymer-based actuators [17], [18] and electroactive polymer microarms based on ionic absorption and swelling [19], [20], can operate in aqueous solutions but have limited actuation control and are restricted to out of plane motion....
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TL;DR: These analyses identified the MEMS component materials, gold, silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, SU-8(TM), and silicon as biocompatible, with gold and silicon showing reduced biofouling.
596 citations
"Electrothermally activated SU-8 mic..." refers background in this paper
...Recent studies on the growth of human cells on SU-8 substrates [25] also revealed good biocompatibility, making SU-8 useful in a variety of in-vitro BioMEMS applications [26], [27]....
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TL;DR: A fabrication method for creating individually addressable and controllable polypyrrole-gold microactuators was developed, and a micrometer-size manipulator, or microrobotic arm, was fabricated, making the micRORobot an excellent tool for single-cell manipulation.
Abstract: Conducting polymers are excellent materials for actuators that are operated in aqueous media. Microactuators based on polypyrrole-gold bilayers enable large movement of structures attached to these actuators and are of particular interest for the manipulation of biological objects, such as single cells. A fabrication method for creating individually addressable and controllable polypyrrole-gold microactuators was developed. With these individually controlled microactuators, a micrometer-size manipulator, or microrobotic arm, was fabricated. This microrobotic arm can pick up, lift, move, and place micrometer-size objects within an area of about 250 micrometers by 100 micrometers, making the microrobot an excellent tool for single-cell manipulation.
530 citations
"Electrothermally activated SU-8 mic..." refers background in this paper
...THE development of miniaturized systems for manipulating biological samples in solution has become a great technological challenge for the future of genomics and proteomics [1]....
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