Illustration of a particle trapped by the 3-D trapping node created by two superimposed, orthogonal, standing surface acoustic waves and the induced acoustic streaming.
Before we’re able to build entire organs or even entire beings (ala Fifth Element) we’ll have to develop tools that work with individual cells to compose larger structures. A big step has been taken toward that future by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and Penn State have come up with a way to use sound waves as tweezers to carefully manipulate live cells in 3D. The method works for both individual cells and larger multi-cell constructs, allowing the acoustic tweezers to compose both flat 2D structures, as well as complicated 3D shapes. The method is gentle enough to maintain the health of the cells, while being precise and versatile for bioprinting applications.
It works inside a microfluidic device that can be finely tuned so that the sound waves meet in specific locations. By carefully moving these spots, the waves can be used to push cells in specific directions while leaving other cells understurbed..
Illustration of the planar surface acoustic wave generators, used to generate volumetric nodes, surrounding the microfluidic experimental area. The inset indicates a single particle within a “3-D trapping node,” which is independently manipulated along the x, y or z axes.
Study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Three-dimensional manipulation of single cells using surface acoustic waves…
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