Rotating magnetic micro-robots for versatile non-contact fluidic manipulation of micro-objects

This work introduces new strategies for fluid-based manipulation of micro-scale objects using rotating magnetic micro-robots at low Reynolds numbers. By rapidly spinning the micro-robots, rotational fluid flow is induced which acts to move the micro-objects by fluidic drag. Acting in parallel, teams of these micro-robots are shown to work together to rapidly move micro-objects along planned “virtual channel”s to goal positions. As the micro-robots are themselves highly mobile, the manipulation trajectories are controlled to achieve accurate, fast manipulation of multiple micro-objects in 2-D environments. Experiments are performed in a viscous oil (50 cSt) to simulate the physics of micro-robots which are small enough to fit through small micro-fluidic channels or blood capillaries. The micro-robot and micro-object motions are characterized to support the proposed strategies. Spherical micro-robots 380µm in diameter are used to manipulate 200µm diameter particles with controllable speeds of up to 3.5 mm/s.

[1]  B. Behkam,et al.  Bacterial flagella-based propulsion and on/off motion control of microscale objects , 2007 .

[2]  Andrea Prosperetti,et al.  Wall effects on a rotating sphere , 2010, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[3]  Russell M. Taylor,et al.  Thermally actuated untethered impact-driven locomotive microdevices , 2006 .

[4]  O. Schmidt,et al.  Catalytic microtubular jet engines self-propelled by accumulated gas bubbles. , 2009, Small.

[5]  P. Fischer,et al.  Controlled propulsion of artificial magnetic nanostructured propellers. , 2009, Nano letters.

[6]  Dominic R. Frutiger,et al.  Small, Fast, and Under Control: Wireless Resonant Magnetic Micro-agents , 2010, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[7]  Metin Sitti,et al.  Two-Dimensional Contact and Noncontact Micromanipulation in Liquid Using an Untethered Mobile Magnetic Microrobot , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[8]  B.R. Donald,et al.  Planar Microassembly by Parallel Actuation of MEMS Microrobots , 2008, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.

[9]  Li Zhang,et al.  Artificial bacterial flagella for micromanipulation. , 2010, Lab on a chip.

[10]  Fumihito Arai,et al.  Laser manipulation and optical adhesion control of functional gel-microtool for on-chip cell manipulation , 2009, 2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[11]  Sylvain Martel,et al.  Flagellated Magnetotactic Bacteria as Controlled MRI-trackable Propulsion and Steering Systems for Medical Nanorobots Operating in the Human Microvasculature , 2009, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[12]  Allen T. Chwang,et al.  Hydromechanics of low-Reynolds-number flow. Part 1. Rotation of axisymmetric prolate bodies , 1974, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[13]  G. B. Jeffery.  On the Steady Rotation of a Solid of Revolution in a Viscous Fluid , 1915 .

[14]  Joël Abadie,et al.  Smart Microrobots for Mechanical Cell Characterization and Cell Convoying , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[15]  Metin Sitti,et al.  Miniature devices: Voyage of the microrobots , 2009, Nature.

[16]  Lixin Dong,et al.  Artificial bacterial flagella: Fabrication and magnetic control , 2009 .

[17]  Metin Sitti,et al.  Rolling and Spinning Friction Characterization of Fine Particles Using Lateral Force Microscopy Based Contact Pushing , 2008 .

[18]  Metin Sitti,et al.  Modeling and Experimental Characterization of an Untethered Magnetic Micro-Robot , 2009, Int. J. Robotics Res..