A micro-opto-acousto-fluidic chip for single cell mechanics evaluation

The rapid development of microfluidic circuits and lab-on-chip devices for cell studies opened new perspectives for cellular biology, in particular for the biophysics and biomechanics of single cells. At the state of the art, a lot of attention is being paid to the possible integration of optical and acoustic actuators within microfluidic system because they both provide a contactless way for cell manipulation and analysis; additionally, they both offer other advantages such as rapid actuation, programmable capability and simple operation.