Nano-size Magnetic Stirring Bars (Nano Stir Bars)
- Summary
- Effective stirring is essential in chemical and biological experiments. This is usually achieved with magnetic stirrers and stir bars. However, this will not work in tiny channels and droplets used in lab-on-a-chip applications and for microliter-scale experiments in biosciences.To answer this problem, we present the world?s smallest magnetic stir bars formed from single-line chains of magnetic nanoparticles, coated with an oxide layer.Their synthesis is facile, cheap and scalable; several billions of Nano Stir Bars can be synthesized in a 1mL solution without the need for any sophisticated instruments. Due to their small size and low cost, they are normally used in millions to stir within emulsion droplets, with each stir bar stirring effectively using a commercial magnetic stir plate. Furthermore, they can resist sedimentation under gravitational and magnetic forces, allowing them to remain suspended and stir all parts of the solution.
- Technology Benefits
- Low cost and simple synthetic methodCan be introduced, operated and extracted with easeCan be readily dispensed for parallel stirring of extremely small and confined environments such as in small droplets (from 100?L down to a few picoliter) as well as in lab-on-chip microchannelsStirring for effective mixing in small droplets
- Technology Application
- Nano Stir Bars can be applied effectively in the following:Mixing of microfluid scale experiments in the biosciences and nanosciencesStirring inside extremely small and confined environments such as in small droplets, and in small channels of lab-on-chip systemsIts surface can also be easily modified with different molecules, thus can be tailored for many different applications such as in biomedical field, catalysis and even stirring in hydrophobic environments
- Detailed Technology Description
- Stir simultaneously in extremely small confined areas, including picoliter droplets of water, and even in small channels of microfluidic systems (down to 25µm)Only requires a common magnetic stir plateNo additional mechanical setups is requiredEasily removed using a common magnet, just like a common magnetic stir barPossible to induce other motions, providing a platform for macro-micro/nano structure interactionsWidth can be tuned from 75nm to 1.4µm while length can be tuned from ~1µm to ~20µm
- Application Date
- 25-Sep-2014
- ID No.
- TO9526
- Country/Region
- Singapore
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