Reconfigurable multi-component micromachines driven by optoelectronic tweezers

Shuailong Zhang; Mohamed Elsayed; Ran Peng; Yujie Chen; Yanfeng Zhang; Jiaxi Peng; Weizhen Li; M Dean Chamberlain; Adele Nikitina; Siyuan Yu; Xinyu Liu; Steven L Neale; Aaron R Wheeler

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-25582-8

Reconfigurable multi-component micromachines driven by optoelectronic tweezers

Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 9;12(1):5349. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25582-8.

Authors

Shuailong Zhang^{1

2

3

4

5}, Mohamed Elsayed^{1

3}, Ran Peng⁶, Yujie Chen⁷, Yanfeng Zhang⁷, Jiaxi Peng^{1

2

3}, Weizhen Li⁸, M Dean Chamberlain^{1

2

3}, Adele Nikitina¹, Siyuan Yu^{7

9}, Xinyu Liu⁶, Steven L Neale⁸, Aaron R Wheeler^{10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
⁵ School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
⁶ Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
⁸ James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
⁹ Photonics Group, Merchant Venturers School of Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
¹⁰ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.
¹¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.
¹² Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.

Abstract

There is great interest in the development of micromotors which can convert energy to motion in sub-millimeter dimensions. Micromachines take the micromotor concept a step further, comprising complex systems in which multiple components work in concert to effectively realize complex mechanical tasks. Here we introduce light-driven micromotors and micromachines that rely on optoelectronic tweezers (OET). Using a circular micro-gear as a unit component, we demonstrate a range of new functionalities, including a touchless micro-feed-roller that allows the programming of precise three-dimensional particle trajectories, multi-component micro-gear trains that serve as torque- or velocity-amplifiers, and micro-rack-and-pinion systems that serve as microfluidic valves. These sophisticated systems suggest great potential for complex micromachines in the future, for application in microrobotics, micromanipulation, microfluidics, and beyond.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't