Hybrid actuation for long-term cell manipulation in a microfluidic channel

This paper proposes a hybrid actuation for long-term cell manipulation in a microfluidic channel. While a conventional actuation can manipulate a cell, it usually cannot last for a very long time (i.e. less than 10 minutes) due to unavoidable pressure leak or drifts. The hybrid actuation is composed of two actuations where one is a gravity-based pressure system for macro-scale pressure balancing and the other is a piezo-actuator-based pressure system for achieving high-response cell manipulation. By combining the two actuators together in the system, we demonstrate a successful cell manipulation in a microchannel for a much longer time. Based on the experimental results, the manipulation system is expected to continue performing a stable manipulation for hours. The working principle and experimental results are presented. The responses of coupled flow resistances are discussed based on experimental results.