Automated Droplet Manipulation Enabled by a Machine-Vision-Assisted Acoustic Tweezer

作     者：Huan, Zhijie Zhou, Jie Xie, Yu Xu, Jinbin Wang, Haozheng Ma, Weicheng Li, Xiaowei Zhou, Wei Luo, Tao 

作者机构：School of Electrical Engineering and Automation Xiamen University of Technology Xiamen361024 China Pen-Tung Sah Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology Xiamen University Xiamen361102 China Micro-/Nano-technology Research Center State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering Xi’an Jiaotong University Xi’an710049 China  Qingdao266580 China Xiamen Key Laboratory of Frontier Electric Power Equipment and Intelligent Control Xiamen361024 China 

出 版 物：《SSRN》 

年 卷 期：2024年

核心收录：

主　　题：Drops 

摘      要：Automated droplet manipulation holds great significance for various biochemical applications, including but limited to heavy metal ions detection. Despite notable progress, contactless-acoustic-tweezer-based automated droplet manipulation on superhydrophobic surfaces is rarely reported. In this work, we introduce a machine-vision-assisted acoustic tweezer (MVAAT) for automated and contactless manipulation of droplets on a superhydrophobic surface. The MVAAT generates ultrasound standing waves between an ultrasonic transducer (UST) and a superhydrophobic surface, inducing acoustic radiation force to facilitate contactless droplet manipulation on the superhydrophobic surface. An industrial-camera-based machine vision system is employed for real-time detection and tracking of droplets, providing precise droplet positions for automated droplet transportation and merging via a UST equipped on a Cartesian robot. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MVAAT can transport droplets of various volumes on a superhydrophobic surface along planned paths at considerably high velocities exceeding one centimeter per second. Moreover, automated merging and patterning of multiple droplets are achieved, showcasing the versatility of the MVAAT. Last, the MVAAT is applied for fluorescence-based Cu2+ detection to showcase its potential for practical biochemical analyses. The proposed MVAAT significantly expands the capability of ultrasound for droplet manipulation on superhydrophobic surfaces, promising numerous practical applications in biology and chemistry. © 2024, The Authors. All rights reserved.