Dierectrophoresis-based tweezers for cell-sized liposome manipulation

In this paper we propose an efficient tweezing methodology for liposome using positive-dielectrophoresis (pDEP). These DEP-based tweezers consist of a round-shaped glass-capillary equipped with two thin Au film electrodes. The electrodes are fabricated using a double side shadow mask (DSSM) technique. This very simple process enables low-cost and reliable fabrication. Using the DEP-based tweezers, we succeeded in capturing, holding, manipulating, and releasing a cell-sized single liposome flowing in the water without deforming it. The proposed tweezers herein can be a strong tool for studies of cell-sized liposome that can be referred to as an artificial coordinated cell.