‌​The employment of micro/nano size superparamagnetic beads (SPBs) as biomolecular tags/labels has recently attracted significant interest as an alternative to commonly used methods such as fluorescent dyes or enzymes due to various advantages. SPBs can be magnetized by an external magnetic field enabling their controlled manipulation like concentration, separation, and transportation as well as their detection by means of magnetic sensors. Another distinct advantage of SPBs is that they lose their magnetization when the external field is removed, which prevents them from agglomerating.
In this project, we are developing conducting microstructors on silicon chips for the the manipulation of SPBs. As current is passed throught the conductors, they attract the SPBs. This effect in combination with customized design of the structures can be used to, for example, concentrate SPBs from a large area to a small area.