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Aqueous droplet manipulation by optically induced Marangoni circulation

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Abstract

The manipulation of picoliter droplets is demonstrated using optically induced microscale circulatory flows. The circulation results from Marangoni effects induced by optical heating from light patterns created by a computer projector. Manipulation of single droplets and parallel manipulation of multiple droplets are achieved with induced forces of up to 1 nN and an average resolution of 146.5 μm.

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Acknowledgments

This project is funding in part by the National Science Foundation, grant number EEC09-26632. The authors would like to thank Dr. Yi Zuo for assistance with surface tension measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Wenqi Hu & Aaron T. Ohta

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  1. Wenqi Hu
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  2. Aaron T. Ohta
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Correspondence to Aaron T. Ohta.

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Hu, W., Ohta, A.T. Aqueous droplet manipulation by optically induced Marangoni circulation. Microfluid Nanofluid 11, 307–316 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-011-0797-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-011-0797-2

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