Optoelectronic Tweezers
"Optoelectronic Tweezers" (OET) is a manipulation tool that is related to digital microfluidics (DMF). In both techniques, electric potentials are applied to a series of electrodes to allow for the manipulation of fluids and particles. A key difference is – in conventional DMF, the electrodes are permanent, while in OET, the electrodes are ‘virtual’ – that is, ‘virtual electrodes’ are defined by the projection of light onto an unpatterned photoconductive material. In effect, this allows for the generation of electrodes with arbitrary size and position, that can be moved in time by projecting a series of moving light patterns onto the device. Papers describing our work with OET are listed below, and a short movie illustrating our OET-driven microrobot can be viewed here. For more on OET, see our recent review article in Chemical Society Reviews.
Chen, X.; Chen, X.; Elsayed, M.; Edwards, H.; Liu, J.; Peng, Y.; Zhang, H.P.; Zhang, S.; Wei Wang; Wheeler, A.R. "Steering Micromotors via Reprogrammable Optoelectronic Paths" ACS Nano 2023, 17, 5894-5904. Supporting Info,Movie 1,Movie 2,Movie 3,Movie 4,Movie 5
Mennillo, L.; Bendkowski, C.; Elsayed, M.; Edwards, H.; Zhang, S.; Pawar, V.; Wheeler, A.R.; Stoyanov, D.; Shaw, M. "Adaptive Autonomous Navigation of Multiple Optoelectronic Microrobots in Dynamic Environments" IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett., 2022, 7, 11102-11109.
Zhang, S.; Elsayed, M.; Peng, R.; Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Neale, S.L.; Wheeler, A.R "Influence of Light Pattern Thickness on the Manipulation of Dielectric Microparticles by Optoelectronic Tweezers" Photonics Research 2022, 10, 550-556. Supplementary Movie.
Zhang, S.; Li, W.; Elsayed, M.; Peng, J.; Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Shayegannia, M.; Dou, W.; Wang, T.; Sun, Y.; Kherani, N.P.; Neale, S.L.; Wheeler, A.R. "Integrated Assembly and Photopreservation of Topographical Micropatterns" Small , 2021, 17, 2103702. Supporting info, Supporting video
Zhang, S.; Elsayed, M.; Peng, R.; Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Peng, J.; Li, W.; Chamberlain, M.D.; NIkitina, A.; Yu, S.; Liu, X.; Neale, S.L.; Wheeler, A.R. "Reconfigurable Multi-Component Micromachines Driven by Optoelectronic Tweezers" Nature Comm. , 2021, 12, 5349. Supporting info, Supporting video
Zhang, S.; Zhai, Y.; Peng, R.; Shayegannia, M.; Flood, A.G.; Qu, J.; Liu, X.; Kherani, N.P.; Wheeler, A.R. "Assembly of Topographical Micropatterns with Optoelectronic Tweezers" Adv. Optical Mater. 2019, 7(20), 1900669. Supplementary: Info, Movie.
Zhang, S.; Li, W.; Elsayed, M.; Tian, P.; Clark, A.W.; Wheeler, A.R.; Neale, S.L. "Size-scaling effects for microparticles and cells manipulated by optoelectronic tweezers" Optics Letters, 2019, 44 (17), 4171-4174. Supplementary: Movie 1, Movie 2, Movie 3.
Zhang, S.; Scott, E.Y.; Singh, J.; Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Elsayed, M.; Chamberlain, M.D.; Shakiba, N.; Adams, K.; Yu, S.; Morshead, C.M.; Zandstra, P.W.; Wheeler, A.R. "The optoelectronic microrobot: A versatile toolbox for micromanipulation" Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, U.S.A. 2019, 116 (30), 14823-14828. Supporting Info, Supplementary Movies.
Zhang, S.; Shakiba, N.; Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Tian, P.; Singh, J.; Chamberlain, M.D.; Satkauskas, M.; Flood, A.G.; Kherani, N.P.; Yu, S.; Zandstra, P.W.; Wheeler, A.R. "Patterned Optoelectronic Tweezers: A New Scheme for Selecting, Moving, and Storing Dielectric Particles and Cells" Small, 2018, 45, 1803342. Supplementary: Info, Movie 1, Movie 2, Movie 3, Movie 4, Movie 5, Movie 6.
Zhang, S.; Nikitina, A.; Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, L.; Flood, A.G.; Juvert, J.; Chamberlain, M.D.; Kherani, N.P.; Neale, S.L.; Wheeler, A.R. "Escape from an optoelectronic tweezer trap: experimental results and simulations" Optics Express, 2018, 26, 5300-5309. Supplementary: Movie 1, Movie 2; Movie 3; Movie 4.