Issue 21, 2012

All-optical microfluidic chips for reconfigurable dielectrophoretic trapping through SLM light induced patterning

Abstract

We explore a novel approach for fabricating polymeric microfluidic-channelled dielectrophoretic (DEP) chips by direct laser projection through a holographic Spatial-Light-Modulator (SLM) onto photorefractive crystal substrates. As the first step, an all-optical mould-free approach was used to fabricate the PDMS microfluidic channel, by exploiting the light induced space charge field in Fe-doped lithium niobate crystals, with the aim of integrating a microfluidic channel directly onto the functionalized substrate. Subsequently, as the second step, geometrical flexible DEP traps can be created onto the substrate by the same SLM holographic projection system. The experimental verification shows the trapping of flowing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the formation of chaining effects with graphite nanofibers. The main feature of the SLM is the ability to display an arbitrary light intensity pattern that is used here for fabricating the channels. Moreover, the reconfigurable trapping of CNTs is possible simply by the optical writing/erasing of various light intensity patterns projected by the SLM.

Graphical abstract: All-optical microfluidic chips for reconfigurable dielectrophoretic trapping through SLM light induced patterning

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 Jul 2012
Accepted
02 Aug 2012
First published
06 Aug 2012

Lab Chip, 2012,12, 4449-4454

All-optical microfluidic chips for reconfigurable dielectrophoretic trapping through SLM light induced patterning

L. Miccio, P. Memmolo, S. Grilli and P. Ferraro, Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 4449 DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40789B

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