Acoustoelectronic nanotweezers enable dynamic and large-scale control of nanomaterials

Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 22;12(1):3844. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24101-z.

Abstract

The ability to precisely manipulate nano-objects on a large scale can enable the fabrication of materials and devices with tunable optical, electromagnetic, and mechanical properties. However, the dynamic, parallel manipulation of nanoscale colloids and materials remains a significant challenge. Here, we demonstrate acoustoelectronic nanotweezers, which combine the precision and robustness afforded by electronic tweezers with versatility and large-field dynamic control granted by acoustic tweezing techniques, to enable the massively parallel manipulation of sub-100 nm objects with excellent versatility and controllability. Using this approach, we demonstrated the complex patterning of various nanoparticles (e.g., DNAs, exosomes, ~3 nm graphene flakes, ~6 nm quantum dots, ~3.5 nm proteins, and ~1.4 nm dextran), fabricated macroscopic materials with nano-textures, and performed high-resolution, single nanoparticle manipulation. Various nanomanipulation functions, including transportation, concentration, orientation, pattern-overlaying, and sorting, have also been achieved using a simple device configuration. Altogether, acoustoelectronic nanotweezers overcome existing limitations in nano-manipulation and hold great potential for a variety of applications in the fields of electronics, optics, condensed matter physics, metamaterials, and biomedicine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Acoustics
  • Colloids / chemistry
  • DNA / chemistry
  • Electronics / methods*
  • Exosomes / chemistry
  • Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanotechnology / methods*
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Optical Tweezers*
  • Particle Size
  • Reproducibility of Results

Substances

  • Colloids
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • DNA