Aspiration and mass measurements of microparticles and unicellular organisms via micropipette resonators

Abstract

This paper reports the first mass measurement of specific microparticles and unicellular organisms on slides or dishes by using micropipette resonators with an open end. Micropipette resonators are fabricated by a customized pipette puller with a galvano mirror that widens the effective heating region thus makes pulled pipettes with a relatively long uniform cross-section. Pulled pipettes cut at a desired position to have an open end are then integrated with a piezo actuator and an optical pickup unit (OPU), originally used in optical data storage drives, for real-time frequency readout. The open-end micropipette resonators are thoroughly characterized with various liquids and particles. Silica microparticles and unicellular organisms, Paramecium Aurelia, sitting on a slide glass are successfully measured. This is the first demonstration of measurement-on-demand with fluidic channel integrated resonators.