Acoustoelectronic nanotweezers manipulate miniscule particles

The approach from Duke University, North Carolina is claimed to provide a label-free, dynamically controllable method of moving and trapping nanoparticles over a large area. The technology holds promise for applications in the fields ranging from condensed matter physics to biomedicine.

The team’s findings are published online in Nature Communications.

Precisely controlling nanoparticles is a crucial ability for many emerging technologies; separating exosomes and other tiny biological molecules from blood could lead to new types of diagnostic tests for the early detection of tumours and neurodegenerative diseases. Similarly, placing engineered nanoparticles in a specific pattern before fixing them in place can help create new types of materials with highly tuneable properties.

Sound tunnels into rewritable lab-on-a-chip devices

For over a decade, Tony Jun Huang, the William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke, has pursued acoustic tweezer systems to manipulate particles, an endeavour that becomes more challenging when their profile drops below that of the smallest viruses.