Three-dimensional manipulation of single cells using surface acoustic waves

Feng Guo, Zhangming Mao, Yuchao Chen, Zhiwei Xie, James P. Lata, Peng Li, Liqiang Ren, Jiayang Liu, Jian Yang, Ming Dao, Subra Suresh, Tony Jun Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

490 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ability of surface acoustic waves to trap and manipulate micrometer-scale particles and biological cells has led to many applications involving "acoustic tweezers" in biology, chemistry, engineering, and medicine. Here, we present 3D acoustic tweezers, which use surface acoustic waves to create 3D trapping nodes for the capture and manipulation of microparticles and cells along three mutually orthogonal axes. In this method, we use standing-wave phase shifts to move particles or cells in-plane, whereas the amplitude of acoustic vibrations is used to control particle motion along an orthogonal plane. We demonstrate, through controlled experiments guided by simulations, how acoustic vibrations result in micromanipulations in a microfluidic chamber by invoking physical principles that underlie the formation and regulation of complex, volumetric trapping nodes of particles and biological cells. We further show how 3D acoustic tweezers can be used to pick up, translate, and print single cells and cell assemblies to create 2D and 3D structures in a precise, noninvasive, label-free, and contact-free manner.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1522-1527
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume113
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 9 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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