Automated micropipette aspiration of cell using resistance-based voltage feedback control

Abstract

This paper presents an automation operation system for the single cell aspiration and placement with high throughput. In the system, a glass capillary micropipette is utilized to move above the microwell substrate which contains living cells, select and aspire individual cells of interest, transfer and release them to target locations. With the microwell biochip coordinate system, the micropipette can be positioned precisely and moves automatically to target microwell with path planning and control. With the visual feedback, living cells of interest are selected and then the micropipette is moved to approach to the cells for aspiration. The cell-resistance based voltage feedback is established for cell aspiration and placement control. The goal of this work is to realize the automated and efficient operation of the cells in the microwell array including aspiration, transfer and placement.