Srinivas Hanasoge

Asymmetric motion of magnetically actuated artificial cilia

Most microorganisms use hair-like cilia with asymmetric beating to perform vital bio-physical processes. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel fabrication method for creating magnetic artificial cilia capable of such a biologically inspired asymmetric beating pattern essential for inducing microfluidic transport at low Reynolds number. The cilia are fabricated using a lithographic process in conjunction with deposition of magnetic nickel-iron permalloy to create flexible filaments that can be manipulated by varying an external magnetic field. A rotating permanent magnet is used to actuate the cilia. We examine the kinematics of a cilium and demonstrate that the cilium motion is defined by an interplay among elastic, magnetic, and viscous forces. Specifically, the forward stroke is induced by the rotation of the magnet which bends the cilium, whereas the recovery stroke is defined by the straightening of the deformed cilium, releasing accumulated elastic potential energy. This difference in dominating forces acting during the forward stroke and the recovery stroke leads to an asymmetric beating pattern of the cilium. Such magnetic cilia can find applications in microfluidic pumping, mixing, and other fluid handling processes.

Metachronal motion of artificial magnetic cilia

Organisms use hair-like cilia that beat in a metachronal fashion to actively transport fluid and suspended particles. Metachronal motion emerges due to a phase difference between beating cycles of neighboring cilia and appears as traveling waves propagating along ciliary carpet. In this work, we demonstrate biomimetic artificial cilia capable of metachronal motion. The cilia are micromachined magnetic thin filaments attached at one end to a substrate and actuated by a uniform rotating magnetic field. We show that the difference in magnetic cilium length controls the phase of the beating motion. We use this property to induce metachronal waves within a ciliary array and explore the effect of operation parameters on the wave motion. The metachronal motion in our artificial system is shown to depend on the magnetic and elastic properties of the filaments, unlike natural cilia, where metachronal motion arises due to fluid coupling. Our approach enables an easy integration of metachronal magnetic cilia in lab-on-a-chip devices for enhanced fluid and particle manipulations.

Microfluidic pumping using artificial magnetic cilia

One of the vital functions of naturally occurring cilia is fluid transport. Biological cilia use spatially asymmetric strokes to generate a net fluid flow that can be utilized for feeding, swimming, and other functions. Biomimetic synthetic cilia with similar asymmetric beating can be useful for fluid manipulations in lab-on-chip devices. In this paper, we demonstrate the microfluidic pumping by magnetically actuated synthetic cilia arranged in multi-row arrays. We use a microchannel loop to visualize flow created by the ciliary array and to examine pumping for a range of cilia and microchannel parameters. We show that magnetic cilia can achieve flow rates of up to 11 μl/min with the pressure drop of ~1 Pa. Such magnetic ciliary array can be useful in microfluidic applications requiring rapid and controlled fluid transport.Fluidics: pumping with artificial ciliaActuation of artificial cilia in a rotating magnetic field enables microfluidic pumping at high flow rate. Naturally occurring cilia ‘beat’ on the surface of a cell or microorganism, generating forces that propel the body through a fluid medium, or ensure that fluid flows over the surface of the body, such as for feeding. Biomimetic systems that replicate this behavior in artificial micro-scale systems are challenging to achieve. A team at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US now report microfluidic pumping in a closed-loop micro-channel, utilizing NiFe thin films as artificial cilia actuators; application of a rotating magnetic field induces ‘beating’ of the micro-scale cilia in unison, achieving a flow rate of 1.1 μl/min. Such a design could offer rapid and controlled pumping in micro-scale fluidic devices.

Active fluid mixing with magnetic microactuators for capture of salmonella

Detection of low concentrations of bacteria in food samples is a challenging process. Key to this process is the separation of the target from the food matrix. We demonstrate magnetic beads and magnetic micro-cilia based microfluidic mixing and capture, which are particularly useful for pre-concentrating the target. The first method we demonstrate makes use of magnetic microbeads held on to NiFe discs on the surface of the substrate. These beads are rotated around the magnetic discs by rotating the external magnetic field. The second method we demonstrate shows the use of cilia which extends into the fluid and is manipulated by a rotating external field. Magnetic micro-features were fabricated by evaporating NiFe alloy at room temperature, on to patterned photoresist. The high magnetic permeability of NiFe allows for maximum magnetic force on the features. The magnetic features were actuated using an external rotating magnet up to frequencies of 50Hz. We demonstrate active mixing produced by the microbeads and the cilia in a microchannel. Also, we demonstrate the capture of target species in a sample using microbeads.