Pyroelectric Adaptive Nanodispenser (PYRANA) microrobot for liquid delivery on a target

Abstract

Manipulation of micro-sized objects in lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic environments is essential for different experiments and procedures ranging from chemical to biological applications and for experimental biotechnologies. For example polymeric particles, useful as targets for encapsulating or for being covered by drug vaccines, can be manipulated and controlled with the aim of releasing them to specific sites. Here we show a novel ElectroHydroDynamic tool able to control and manipulate dielectric micro-targets by a touch-less approach. This approach allows one to manipulate liquids and nano-particles simultaneously for specific delivery applications (i.e. decoration and coating). Thus a sort of EHD micro-robot is proposed. This flexible tool provides a new and powerful way to operate various tasks as demonstrated by the experiments reported here.