Simultaneous Positioning and Orientation of a Single Nano-object by Flow Control: theory and simulations

Published

January 19, 2011

Author(s)

Pramod P. Mathai, Andrew J. Berglund, James A. Liddle, Benjamin Shapiro

Abstract

In this paper we describe a method to simultaneously control both the position and orientation of single nano-objects in fluids by precisely controlling the flow around them. We develop and simulate a control law that uses electro-osmotic flow (EOF) actuation to translate and rotate rigid nano-objects in two spatial dimensions. Using EOF to control nano-objects offers advantages as compared to other approaches: a wide class of objects can be manipulated (no magnetic or electric dipole moments are needed), the object can be controlled over a long range (> 100 microns) with sub-micron accuracy, and control is achieved using a simple polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device. We demonstrate the theory and numerical solutions that will enable deterministic control of the position and orientation of a nano-object in solution, which can be used for example, to integrate nanostructures in circuits and orient sensors to probe living cells.

Citation

New Journal of Physics

Volume

13

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Flow control, electro-osmotic flow, position, orientation, nano-objects

Citation

Mathai, P. , Berglund, A. , Liddle, J. and Shapiro, B. (2011), Simultaneous Positioning and Orientation of a Single Nano-object by Flow Control: theory and simulations, New Journal of Physics, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905367 (Accessed October 11, 2025)