Harnessing particle mechanics in a liquid medium

The manipulation of bioparticles ranging from nano to micrometers in diameter has become a fundamental tenet to much of biochemical and biomedical applications. Integral to these experiments is the need to precisely manipulate particle locations, separate and/or organize them whilst limiting the possibility of damage to the specimens that are, by nature, required to be suspended in a liquid medium. A crucial aspect in any such form of particle manipulation is the ability to reliably and repeatedly sense and distinguish their presence. To achieve these goals, their small nature and typically large number warrant the use of up and coming nanotechnologies- for example nano-optics- to achieve practicable and effective results. Yet, there remains major challenges in such technologies, including but not limited to: (a) better sorting (size, density, etc), (b) assembly, (c) concentration, (d) dilution, (e) fictionalization and finally most importantly (f) a better understanding of the interdisciplinary coupling with digital microfluidics. Further to this, the implications of working with such small particles is the inherent random jiggling of said particles in a liquid medium, i.e. Brownian dynamics. Not only are the dynamics of the liquid medium necessary in evaluation, but they also create an impetus to harness it for useful applications in itself. Therefore, the primary focus of this thesis is to study various particle manipulation mechanisms with secondary support areas in Brownian dynamics and discrete liquid mechanics.