Micro-electro-mechanical systems microtweezers for the manipulation of bacteria and small particles

We describe the construction and characteristics of microtweezers. The tweezers consist of 2 μm thick polysilicon foils that are manufactured by standard micro-electro-mechanical systems fabrication methods. The tweezers’ foils when mounted on a piezoelectric strip actuator device can be used to manipulate micron size objects in air or in electrolytes. The tweezers’ performance is demonstrated with images showing the manipulation of micron size latex beads as well as bacteria.