Abstract
We proposed novel optically-driven microtool which can control cell adhesion on its surface. The proposed microtool is made of polystyrene microbead coated with thermo-responsive gel, Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). Target cells can adhere on the surface of the microtool at more than Lower Critical Solution Temperature(LCST) (> 33 ℃), and cannot adhere at less than LCST (< 29 ℃). Thus, the microtool can transport target cell by adhering the cell on its surface at high temperature. The microtool can be heated by infrared laser used for optical tweezers, and the temperature of the microtool surface can be controlled by changing laser power and/or environmental temperature. We theoretically analyzed the controllability of the temperature, and experimentally evaluated the cell adhesion by changing environmental temperature. Furthermore, we confirmed that target cells can adhere to the tool by irradiating laser with 65 mW, and cannot adhere to the tool with 29 mW.
