Microparticle manipulation using laser-induced thermophoresis and thermal convection flow

Qian, Y., Neale, S. L. and Marsh, J. H. (2020) Microparticle manipulation using laser-induced thermophoresis and thermal convection flow. Scientific Reports, 10, 19169. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76209-9) (PMID:33154506) (PMCID:PMC7644619)

Abstract

We demonstrate manipulation of microbeads with diameters from 1.5 to 10 µm and Jurkat cells within a thin fluidic device using the combined effect of thermophoresis and thermal convection. The heat flow is induced by localized absorption of laser light by a cluster of single walled carbon nanotubes, with no requirement for a treated substrate. Characterization of the system shows the speed of particle motion increases with optical power absorption and is also affected by particle size and corresponding particle suspension height within the fluid. Further analysis shows that the thermophoretic mobility (DT) is thermophobic in sign and increases linearly with particle diameter, reaching a value of 8 µm2 s−1 K−1 for a 10 µm polystyrene bead.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Neale, Professor Steven and Marsh, Professor John and Qian, Mr Yang
• Authors: Qian, Y., Neale, S. L., and Marsh, J. H.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 10: 19169
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
162182		Micro-Actuators Controlled by Optoelectronic Tweezers (MACOET)	Steven Neale	Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE)	EP/G058393/1	ENG - Biomedical Engineering