Issue 23, 2009

Micro-fluidic actuation using magnetic artificial cilia

Abstract

We demonstrate advanced fluid manipulations using magnetic polymeric artificial cilia on the walls of a microfluidic channel. In nature, cilia are little hairs covering the surface of micro-organisms which enable them to manipulate a fluid on the micro-scale. The asymmetric movement of natural cilia is crucial to obtain a net fluid flow. We have developed a ferromagnetic polymer made from iron nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane, and describe a process that can structure the material into high aspect ratio lying artificial cilia with a length of 300 µm. These artificial cilia were actuated with a homogeneous rotating magnetic field (µ0H < 50 mT) generated with a compact external electromagnet. An asymmetric movement involving torsion could be created when the cilia were provided with a remanent magnetisation perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the magnetic field vector. The artificial cilia could be actuated in fluid up to a frequency of ∼50 Hz. In an aqueous solution in a microfluidic chamber we were able to generate rotational as well as translational fluid movements with fluid velocities up to ∼0.5 mm s−1.

Graphical abstract: Micro-fluidic actuation using magnetic artificial cilia

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 May 2009
Accepted
20 Aug 2009
First published
18 Sep 2009

Lab Chip, 2009,9, 3413-3421

Micro-fluidic actuation using magnetic artificial cilia

F. Fahrni, M. W. J. Prins and L. J. van IJzendoorn, Lab Chip, 2009, 9, 3413 DOI: 10.1039/B908578E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements