Rotational manipulation of single cells and organisms using acoustic waves

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 11085
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Daniel, Ozcelik, Adem, Bojanala, Nagagireesh, Nama, Nitesh, Upadhyay, Awani, Chen, Yuchao, Hanna-Rose, Wendy, Huang, Tony Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 23.03.2016; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/62; 14/63; 631/136/1660; 631/1647/2204; 631/443/494; 64/11; Acoustics - instrumentation; Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Equipment Design; HeLa Cells; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Micromanipulation - instrumentation; Micromanipulation - methods; multidisciplinary; Rotation; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sound
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11085

The precise rotational manipulation of single cells or organisms is invaluable to many applications in biology, chemistry, physics and medicine. In this article, we describe an acoustic-based, on-chip manipulation method that can rotate single microparticles, cells and organisms. To achieve this, we trapped microbubbles within predefined sidewall microcavities inside a microchannel. In an acoustic field, trapped microbubbles were driven into oscillatory motion generating steady microvortices which were utilized to precisely rotate colloids, cells and entire organisms (that is, C. elegans ). We have tested the capabilities of our method by analysing reproductive system pathologies and nervous system morphology in C. elegans . Using our device, we revealed the underlying abnormal cell fusion causing defective vulval morphology in mutant worms. Our acoustofluidic rotational manipulation (ARM) technique is an easy-to-use, compact, and biocompatible method, permitting rotation regardless of optical, magnetic or electrical properties of the sample under investigation. The precise rotational manipulation of single cells is technically challenging and relies on the optical, magnetic and electrical properties of the biospecimen. Here the authors develop an acoustic-based, on-chip manipulation method that can rotate single microparticles, cells and organisms.