There
is currently a great deal of interest in using small droplets as containers for
chemical reactions. Optical methods
for droplet manipulation are attractive because they offer control without an on
chip structure; however forces from optical tweezers tend to be in the pN
range.
Wayne
State University researchers have developed a new method to trap liquid droplets
using light. Laser light is focused
on the surface of a drop using a lens.
The light is a strong enough intensity to heat up the surface of the
liquid droplet, generating thermocapillary flow which aligns the droplet with
the laser. This technique can be
used to translate droplets in 2 or 3 dimensions in order to merge and mix
droplets, resonate a droplet, and to concentrate particles inside the
droplet. OFT is 1 Million
times stronger than traditional optical tweezers and has potential applications
in chemistry, biology, medical diagnostics, and various applications where there
is a need to manipulate small amounts of liquid.
Commercial
Applications:
·
Using
small droplets as containers for chemical reactions
·
Biological
and medical diagnostics
·
Various
industrial applications where there is a need to manipulate small amount of
liquid
Technological
Advantage:
·
OFT
technology is 1,000,000 X strong than traditional optical tweezers, enabling the
manipulation of a wide range of droplet sizes.
·
Compared
to other published research in theromocapillary flow, OFT is a unique mechanism
which traps droplets instead of repelling them
Patent
Status:
Patent
pending