Manipulation of magnetic or magnetizable objects using combined magnetophoresis and dielectrophoresis

摘要

The present invention provides a device for manipulating magnetic or magnetizable objects (M) in a medium. The device has a surface (25) lying in a plane and comprises a set of at least two conductors (A, B) electrically isolated from each other, wherein the at least two conductors (A, B) are adapted for both generating a magnetophoresis (MAP) force for moving the magnetic or magnetizable objects (M) over the surface (25) of the device in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the surface (25), and generating a dielectrophoresis (DEP) force for moving the magnetic or magnetizable objects (M) in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the surface (25). The present invention also provides a method for manipulating magnetic or magnetizable objects (M) in a medium. The method uses a combined magnetophoresis (MAP) and dielectrophoresis (DEP) actuation principle for controlling in-plane as well as out-of-plane movement of the magnetic or magnetizable objects.