Design and optimisation of a microgripper : demonstration of biomedical applications using the manipulation of oocytes

We present a bidirectional electrothermal microgripper for the advanced manipulation of single large cells. The device demonstrates excellent performance, and shows great potential as a supporting microtool for different biomedical procedures such as oocyte selection or electrofusion of cells. In particular, we focus on the operation of the device in real environments, i.e. integrated in a standard biological micromanipulation station and entirely submerged in a biological fluid, for the handling and transportation of ?live? specimens (in our case mice oocytes). A clamping mechanism is included in the design that limits the pressure exerted over the biological specimen to an approximate maximum of 40 ?N, whilst maintaining a robust grip, with a force up to 300 ?N, between the arms of the microgripper.