Optical trapping and manipulation techniques have attracted significant attention in various research fields. Optical forces divided into two terms, such as a scattering force and gradient one, work to push forward and attract objects, respectively. This is a typical property of optical forces. In particular, a tool known as optical tweezers can be created when a laser beam is converged at a focal point, causing strong forces to be generated so as to trap and manipulate small objects. In this study, we propose a novel method to build up assembled structures of polystyrene particles by using optical trapping techniques. Recording trajectories of single particles, the optical forces are quantitatively evaluated using particle tracking velocimetry. Herein, we treat various particle sizes whose diameters range from 1 to 4 μm and expose them to a converged laser beam of 1064 nm wavelength. As a result, both experimental and theoretical results are in good agreement. The behavior of particles is understood in the framework of Ashkin’s ray optics. This finding clarifies optical force fields of microparticles distributed in a slit-like microfluidic channel and will be applicable for effectively forming ordered structures in liquids.

Recently, electrical sensing methods for tiny objects, such as microparticles, cells, viruses, and allergen particles, have attracted much attention. However, the details of microfluidic devices have not yet been optimized because of problems with the detection frequency and the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Herein, we propose applying optical forces acting on microparticles to the electrical measurement technique. First, an optical force acting on a single microparticle is quantitatively measured in the steady liquid flows. Next, the effects of acceleration and deceleration on the unsteady motions of the microparticles in the liquids are numerically evaluated, which may cause a release of the particle during the quick motions of the fluids. Finally, optical manipulation of the microparticles is combined with electrical sensing. An optically trapped microparticle can be transported to a sensing portion embedded in the microchannel by controlling a motorized stage, and the reciprocal motion of the microparticle in the channel enables us to repeatedly obtain electrical signals in a single trial. After superposing the signals by synchronizing the periodic motions, the S/N ratio is drastically improved, and weak signals that are usually hidden behind noise are clearly recognized. The present results will shed light on various research fields using weak signal detections of single molecules and nanoparticles as well as microparticles.

Recently, single-molecule manipulation techniques in micro- and nanofluidic channels have attracted significant attention. To precisely control the transport velocity, the dynamics of the surrounding liquid must be understood in addition to the behavior of the target particles. Some unknowns about interactions between electrolyte ions and solvents remain to be clarified from a microscopic viewpoint. Herein, we propose a technique to generate a liquid flow driven by ion transport phenomena, the so-called electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow, where electrolyte ions are dialyzed using a cation-exchange membrane. With this method, it is possible to apply an electric body force in liquids, which is different from electroosmotic flows that are limited to ion transport in electric double layers, and is expected to be a good candidate for detailed control of liquid flows in micro- and nanofluidic channels. To collect basic design data based on the knowledge of microscopic fluid dynamics of the present technique, a mathematical model of an EHD flow dragged by electrical carriers in an ionic current is developed and results are compared with experimental data. In our experiments, EHD flows are efficiently driven by applied electric fields in a cation dominant current. To induce such an EHD flow, the externally applied electric potential can be drastically reduced to 2.0 V in comparison with previous methods because we do not need an excessively high voltage to inject electrical charges into liquids. This method enables us to induce EHD flows in aqueous solutions and is expected to open the door to low-voltage driven liquid flow control.

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To drive electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flows in aqueous solutions, the separation of cation and anion transport pathways is essential because a directed electric body force has to be induced by ionic motions in liquid. On the other hand, positive and negative charges attract each other, and electroneutrality is maintained everywhere in equilibrium conditions. Furthermore, an increase in an applied voltage has to be suppressed to avoid water electrolysis, which causes the solutions to become unstable. Usually, EHD flows can be induced in non-aqueous solutions by applying extremely high voltages, such as tens of kV, to inject electrical charges. In this study, two methods are introduced to generate EHD flows induced by electrical charge separations in aqueous solutions, where two liquid phases are separated by an ion-exchange membrane. Due to a difference in the ionic mobility in the membrane, ion concentration polarization is induced between both sides of the membrane. In this study, we demonstrate two methods. (i) The relaxation of ion concentration gradients occurs via a flow channel that penetrates an ion-exchange membrane, where the transport of the slower species in the membrane selectively becomes dominant in the flow channel. This is a driving force to generate an EHD flow in the liquid. (ii) A long waiting time for the diffusion of ions passing through the ion-exchange membrane enables the generation of an ion-dragged flow by externally applying an electric field. Ions concentrated in a flow channel of a 1 x 1 mm cross-section determine the direction of the liquid flow, corresponding to the electrophoretic transport pathways. In both methods, the electric voltage difference required for an EHD flow generation is drastically reduced to near 2 V by rectifying the ion transport pathways.