Three-Dimensional Magnetic Manipulation of Micro- and Nanostructures for Applications in Life Sciences

We present a magnetic manipulation system capable of 5 degree-of-freedom (5-DOF) wireless control of micro- and nanostructures (3-DOF position, 2-DOF pointing orientation). The system has a spherical workspace with a diameter of approximately 10 mm, and is completely unrestrained in the rotational degrees-of-freedom. This is accomplished through the superposition of multiple magnetic fields, and capitalizes on a linear representation of the coupled field contributions of multiple soft-magnetic-core electromagnets acting in concert. The system consists of 8 stationary electromagnets with ferromagnetic cores, and is capable of producing arbitrary magnetic fields and field gradients up to 50 mT and 5 T/m at frequencies up to 2 kHz. The capabilities of the system are evaluated through the introduction of the reachable magnetic workspace of the system as well as frequency response and calibration results. Experimental results are presented which demonstrate different magnetic control strategies at sub-mm and sub-μm scale.

[1]  Vijay Kumar,et al.  Wireless manipulation of single cells using magnetic microtransporters , 2011, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

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

[3]  Jake J. Abbott,et al.  How Should Microrobots Swim? , 2009, ISRR.

[4]  Sandro Erni,et al.  MiniMag: A Hemispherical Electromagnetic System for 5-DOF Wireless Micromanipulation , 2010, ISER.

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

[6]  E. Furlani.  Permanent Magnet and Electromechanical Devices: Materials, Analysis, and Applications , 2001 .

[7]  T. H. Boyer,et al.  The force on a magnetic dipole , 1988 .

[8]  Jaydev P Desai,et al.  Engineering approaches to biomanipulation. , 2007, Annual review of biomedical engineering.

[9]  Michaël Gauthier,et al.  An electromagnetic micromanipulation system for single-cell manipulation , 2002 .

[10]  S. Earnshaw.  On the Nature of the Molecular Forces which Regulate the Constitution of the Luminiferous Ether , .

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

[12]  Vijay Kumar,et al.  Modeling, control and experimental characterization of microbiorobots , 2011, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[13]  C Alexiou,et al.  Clinical applications of magnetic drug targeting. , 2001, The Journal of surgical research.

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

[15]  A. Geim,et al.  Magnet levitation at your fingertips , 1999, Nature.

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

[17]  Byung H. Han,et al.  Magnetic propulsion of a magnetic device using three square-Helmholtz coils and a square-Maxwell coil , 2009, Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing.

[18]  Bradley J. Nelson,et al.  Holonomic 5-DOF magnetic control of 1D nanostructures , 2012, 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[19]  Dominic R. Frutiger,et al.  Wireless resonant magnetic microactuator for untethered mobile microrobots , 2008 .

[20]  Metin Sitti,et al.  Control methodologies for a heterogeneous group of untethered magnetic micro-robots , 2011, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[21]  Li Zhang,et al.  Controlled propulsion and cargo transport of rotating nickel nanowires near a patterned solid surface. , 2010, ACS nano.

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

[23]  Jake J. Abbott,et al.  Modeling Magnetic Torque and Force for Controlled Manipulation of Soft-Magnetic Bodies , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[24]  E. Brandt.  Levitation in Physics , 1989, Science.

[25]  K. Neuman,et al.  Single-molecule force spectroscopy: optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers and atomic force microscopy , 2008, Nature Methods.

[26]  Arash Komaee,et al.  Towards Control of Magnetic Fluids in Patients: Directing Therapeutic Nanoparticles to Disease Locations , 2012, IEEE Control Systems.

[27]  Jake J. Abbott,et al.  OctoMag: An Electromagnetic System for 5-DOF Wireless Micromanipulation , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[28]  Bradley J. Nelson,et al.  Modeling and Control of Untethered Biomicrorobots in a Fluidic Environment Using Electromagnetic Fields , 2006, Int. J. Robotics Res..

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

[30]  L. Lewis.  Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy , 2004 .

[31]  Marcus L. Roper,et al.  Microscopic artificial swimmers , 2005, Nature.

[32]  Karoly Jakab,et al.  Magnetic tweezers for intracellular applications , 2003 .

[33]  M. Graef,et al.  The equivalent ellipsoid of a magnetized body , 2006 .