Title :
Nematic Colloidal Swarms Assembled and Transported on Photosensitive Surfaces
Author :
Hernandez-Navarro, Sergi ; Tierno, Pietro ; Ignes-Mullol, Jordi ; Sagues, Francesc
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys. Chem., Univ. of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Abstract :
We demonstrate a novel method to assemble and transport swarms of colloidal particles by combining liquid crystal enabled electrophoresis and photo-sensitive surface patterning. Colloidal particles are propelled in a nematic liquid crystal via application of an alternating current electric field. Swarms of particles are assembled into a rotating mill cluster, or moved as a whole along predefined paths photo-imprinted on chemically functionalized substrates. This technique represents an alternative approach to fluid based lab-on-a-chip technologies guiding the motion of large ensembles of micrometer scale solid or liquid inclusions.
Keywords :
colloidal crystals; electrophoresis; microfluidics; nematic liquid crystals; colloidal particles; electrophoresis; lab-on-a-chip; nematic colloidal swarms; nematic liquid crystal; photosensitive surfaces; rotating mill cluster; surface patterning; Electric fields; Liquid crystals; Magnetic liquids; Microfluidics; Microscopy; Propulsion; Trajectory; Colloids; liquid crystals; microfluidics;
Journal_Title :
NanoBioscience, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TNB.2015.2389873