Microbubble cell actuator

Abstract

The field of microsystems technology is rapidly growing, and expanding its horizons to applications in bioengineering. Currently, there are no cell analysis systems that facilitate the collection of dynamic responses for a large number of cells, and sorting based on those results. A cell chip has been fabricated in pursuit of this goal, which can capture particles in an array, hold them against a flow, and selectively release them. The release mechanism uses a vapor microbubble as a means of volume expansion to create a jet of fluid that ejects a particle. The theory, design, and testing are described, and successful operation of the device is demonstrated. Applications and suggestions for future work are discussed.