Micro Bubble Tweezers for Individual Cell Manipulation and In Vitro Ultrasound Cell Therapy

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This proposal focuses on developing a novel non-invasive integrated system for individual cell manipulation and in vitro ultrasound cell therapy, called bubble tweezers where micro bubbles actuated by electrowetting can manipulate individual cells in parallel and promote delivery of bioactive substances into the cells with ultrasound excitations. Intellectual merit: This project will address fundamental issues in electrowetting actuations of microbubbles and their interactions with objects to be manipulated, and will develop the bubble tweezers based on the gained understanding. The proposed bubble tweezers technology will provide a handy, low-cost, high-throughput cell manipulation tool. Harnessing surface tension enables to generate an extremely strong actuation force (~microNewtons). Soft contacts between cells and bubbles lead to minimal damages on the cells. The integration of the bubble tweezers with ultrasound excitations provides a platform for in-vitro ultrasound cell therapy. This research can increase the success rate in therapeutic cloning and other cell-level therapies (gene injection, in-vitro fertilization, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection), making these clinical benefits one-step closer to everyday life. The integrated platform with ultrasound excitations allows performing numerous in-vitro parallel drug/gene testing on different types of cells, leading to expediting drug developments and advancing ultrasound cell therapy. The proposed manipulation technology can also bring a new tool in micromachine assembling.Broader impact: This research will result in tremendous impacts with societal benefits. This research will also make significant impacts on education by (1) establishing micro/nano scientific visual library on the web from the research results; (2) developing micro/nano science coursework with a lab section for graduates as well as undergraduates; (3) having graduate/undergraduate students participate in research especially from underrepresented groups; and (4) donating the visual results from this project to public museums. Furthermore, the completion of the laboratory facilities during this research will improve the engineering infrastructure at the University of Pittsburgh.