Acoustically Driven Manipulation of Microparticles and Cells on a Detachable Surface Micromachined Silicon Chip

Particles and cells can be patterned and moved (i.e., manipulated) precisely using acoustically driven techniques. To date, application of acoustic particle manipulation has been limited to plain surfaces. There is much potential for applying acoustic manipulation techniques to surfaces with microfabricated structures for high-throughput sensing. But adding thin film structures could alter manipulation characteristics compared to a plain surface. Using a two-chip setup that allows the wave generating device to be reused, we study the feasibility of acoustofluidic micro-manipulation on a surface-micromachined silicon (SMS) chip. The SMS chip is a complex superstrate with generic thin-film structures fabricated by patterning and etching multiple layers of thin films, with properties meant to represent a broad range of microfabricated devices. We report notable alterations in the particle separation distances on the SMS chip compared to a bare silicon superstrate, which we attribute to a change in wave type through a comparison of different superstrates prepared. We demonstrate a high cell viability after acoustic manipulation of live cells on the SMS chip. The results herein demonstrate the possibility of integrating a suite of microfabricated sensors on a chip with acoustically driven manipulation capabilities for multiplexed sensing and analysis for bio-applications.

Automated summary

Acoustically driven techniques can precisely pattern and move particles and cells, but the manipulation characteristics may change when applied to surfaces with microfabricated structures. Demonstrating a high cell viability on the SMS chip shows the potential of integrating microfabricated sensors with acoustically driven manipulation capabilities for bio-applications.