Rotational manipulation of single cells and organisms using acoustic waves

TLDR

Precise rotational manipulation of single cells or organisms is invaluable to many applications in biology, chemistry, physics, and medicine. The article describes an acoustic‑based, on‑chip method that can rotate single microparticles, cells, and organisms. The method uses microbubbles trapped in sidewall microcavities within a microchannel; acoustic excitation drives the bubbles into oscillatory motion, generating steady microvortices that rotate colloids, cells, and organisms such as *C. elegans*.

Abstract

Abstract 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.