Programmable Aperture for Resistive Sensing of Nanoparticles

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Applications of nanoparticles are numerous, from scratch resistance coatings and electronic components to nano-medicine therapies. For instance, lipid nanoparticles are of special interest for encapsulating poorly water-soluble active ingredients and are now a key component of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. To ensure the reliability of products and the efficacy and safety of therapies, methods for controlling the quality of nanoparticles are of great importance. PARS project aims at developing a resistive-based measurement method based on a programmable aperture, which partially is defined by an elastomeric material, whose shape is locally deformed by wirelessly controlled bistable microactuators. They will be activated by shape memory alloy (SMA) elements, that can be optically adressed by laser beams, through wavelength selective waveguides, thereby controlling their independent stable states. The choice of optical power supply and control has been made to avoid disturbances of fast resistive pulse signals with low magnitude before amplification. Finally, the resistive measurement of particles with the help of the aperture in the form of a pore with digitally controlled local cross-sections and multiple microelectrodes will be demonstrated in a microfluidic setup. The multiple signals obtained from different pore positions will provide fingerprints that will allow conclusions not only about the size but also the morphology of the individual particles and the compositions of heterogeneous particle populations. Based on this concept, sorting of small particles based on size and morphology and integration with microfluidic nanoparticle production and impedance measurements that indicate also dielectric particle properties will also be considered in the longer term.