Fabrication of the micro-gripper with a force sensor for manipulating a cell

A novel micro-gripper has been designed and fabricated to manipulate the small object like a cell. In order to gripping the cell, it should be no restriction to use the micro-gripper in the water. Since the mechanical type micro-gripper is little affected by a surrounding so as to use freely in any environment, compared with other type micro-grippers, it is suitable to treat the cell. In addition, it can reduce the deformation of the cell and control the gripping force flexibly. A point to be considered to manipulate the cell is the force working on the cell and the deformation of the cell according to the applied force. On the gripper a piezo-resistive sensor is integrated for sensing the gripping force. Using the fabricated micro-gripper, micro-glass beads can be successfully manipulated in the water. The resistor of the piezoresistive sensor is successfully changed according to the force on the micro-gripper. If on-going feedback experiment in the gripper system is finished successfully, the proposed micro-gripper can be utilized for manipulating the cell