BME Seminar Series: Tony Jun Huang, Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Huang will present "Acoustic tweezers: manipulating particles, cells, and fluids using sound waves"

Title: "Acoustic tweezers: manipulating  particles, cells, and fluids using sound  waves"

ABSTRACT

The ability to manipulate cells, micro/nano particles, and fluids in a biocompatible and dexterous manner is critical for numerous biological studies and applications such as cell-cell communication, biosensing, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and lab on a chip. Here we summarize our recent progress on an “acoustic tweezers” technique that utilizes acoustic waves to manipulate particles, cells, organisms, and fluids. This technique is capable of manipulating cells and microparticles regardless of shape, size, charge or polarity. Its power intensity, approximately 107 times lower than that of optical tweezers, compares favorably with those of other active patterning methods. Cell viability, proliferation, and gene expression have revealed the technique to be extremely biocompatible. The aforementioned advantages, along with this technique’s simple design and low-cost, compact design, render the “acoustic tweezers” technique a promising tool for various applications in biology, chemistry, engineering, biophysics, and materials science.

BIOGRAPHY

Tony Jun Huang is a professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at The Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2005, and his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Energy and Power Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 1996 and 1999, respectively.  His research interests are in the fields of acoustofluidics, optofluidics, and micro/nano systems for biomedical diagnostics and therapeutics. He has authored/co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed journal publications in these fields. His journal articles has been cited more than 3800 times at Web of Science (h-index: 34). He also has 14 patents and invention disclosures. Huang’s work have been recognized with awards and honors such as a 2010 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award, a 2011 Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Outstanding Research Award, a 2011 JALA Top Ten Breakthroughs of the Year Award, a 2012 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from Society for Manufacturing Engineering, a 2013 Faculty Scholar Medal from The Pennsylvania State University, a 2013 American Asthma Foundation (AAF) Scholar Award, and the 2014 IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award from The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).