Arranging Matter by Magnetic Nanoparticle Assemblers

by Benjamin B. Yellen, Ondrej Hovorka, & Gary Friedman Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 Jun 2005 We introduce a method for transporting colloidal particles, large molecules, cells, and other materials across surfaces and for assembling them into highly regular patterns. In this method, nonmagnetic materials are manipulated by a fluid dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles. Manipulation of materials is guided by a program of magnetic information stored in a substrate. Dynamic control over the motion of nonmagnetic particles can be achieved by reprogramming the substrate magnetization on the fly. The unexpectedly large degree of control over particle motion can be used to manipulate large ensembles of particles in parallel, potentially with local control over particle trajectory. Read more