Magnetically driven micro-robot with suction mechanism for on-chip automatic

Abstract

We have developed a high-functional untetherd micro-robot which can manipulate cells with high-power suction. The robot is made thinly and small to maneuver in a micro-fluidic chip. A nozzle is fabricated by photolithography using SU-8. The robot has a suction pump activated by an electrical magnet and permanent magnet. We realized high-power suction of micro-scale robot by a miniaturization of cross-section of the nozzle and a speed-up of the pumping using electrical magnet and elastic PDMS membrane. We succeeded in high-power fixation and high-speed transportation of cells using this micro-robot. We also succeeded in cell loading with this robot and micro-fluidic chip.