Microfluidic and acoustic three-dimensional manipulation of plant cells
The ability to precisely control the three-dimensional (3D) orientation of micrometer-sized biological samples is critical for phenotypic investigation. We are developing acoustic wave-based microfluidic devices that can be used for the trapping and rotational manipulation of single plant cells [4]. Resonant acoustic excitation of air-filled microbubbles generates localized vortices that can be used for the controlled three-dimensional rotation of single cells (Fig. 3).
Fig 3. (a) A schematic showing the acoustofluidic manipulation system for the lily pollen grain. (b) Image sequence of the in-plane and out-of-plane rotation of a pollen grain.