Response of Superparamagnetic Beads and Orientation of Magnetotactic Bacteria in an Integrated Microfluidic Chip

We present an integrated microfluidic chip with mini-solenoids which is useful for manipulation of magnetic particles. The distribution of superparamagnetic beads was recorded in a flowing stream with the direction of magnetic field. The calculated and experimental results revealed that the mini-solenoids generated strong magnetic field gradients which can be used to orient the magnetotactic bacteria in microfluidic channels. The trapping response of magnetotactic bacteria was demonstrated based on the mini- solenoids in microfluidic channels. We believe that the response of magnetotactic bacteria in microfluidic devices can have a variety of advanced biology applications, considering different possibilities of surface functionalisation and manipulation of magnetic particles in an aqueous solution.