Abstract
This paper discusses the design and implementation of a three dimensional magnetic tweezer system to achieve measurement of mechanical properties of living cells by touching a magnetically levitated micro probe to specimen cells. The system consists of a three dimensional magnetic tweezer, an inverted optical microscope for 3D probe position measurement, and control/interface software. For reducing assembly error in the magnetic tweezer and adjusting the gap distance between magnetic poles precisely, a pole positioning mechanism was implemented in the magnetic tweezer. By using the fabricated prototype, Trajectory tracking experiment in which magnetic particle of 4.5μm diameter was steered to follow target trajectories and homogeneity evaluation for force generation of each magnetic pole were performed.
