Microrobots for Micrometer-Size Objects in Aqueous Media : Potential Tools for Single-Cell Manipulation

• Conducting polymers are excellent materials for actuators that are operated in aqueous media. Microactuators based on polypyrrole-goldbilayers enable large movement of structures attached to theseactuators and are of particular interest for the manipulationof biological objects, such as single cells. A fabrication methodfor creating individually addressable and controllable polypyrrole-goldmicroactuators was developed. With these individually controlledmicroactuators, a micrometer-size manipulator, or microroboticarm, was fabricated. This microrobotic arm can pick up, lift,move, and place micrometer-size objects within an area of about250 micrometers by 100 micrometers, making the microrobot an excellenttool for single-cell manipulation.

Keyword

microrobot

micromanipulation

polypyrrole

microactuator

conducting polymer

TECHNOLOGY

TEKNIKVETENSKAP

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)