The invention discloses a method and an apparatus for trapping and manipulating particles, relating to the field of acoustic manipulation. The invention discloses a photoacoustic tweezers, which use bimodal transducer generate a weak acoustic wave and a strong acoustic wave. The strong acoustic wave behaves as an effective gain medium to amplify the acoustic radiation force of this weak acoustic wave. After an interference of the strong acoustic wave and the weak acoustic wave, an amplified trapping force is produced for achieving the trapping and manipulation of particles. The invention can manipulate several particles simultaneously in high throughput and particles of various sizes ranging from 1 ?m to 1 mm. The invention can form reconfigurable acoustic fields which permits versatile and selective manipulation with no need of complicated acoustic arrays. The invention is a versatile, biocompatible, selective and high-throughput manipulation method.

The disclosure provides apparatus and methods of simultaneously levitating a droplet above a nominally rigid surface and controlling its position and motion in a direction along the nominally rigid surface generally for use in microfluidics.

The disclosure provides apparatus and methods of simultaneously levitating a droplet above a nominally rigid surface and controlling its position and motion in a direction along the nominally rigid surface generally for use in microfluidics.

A device for determining a position and/or an extension of a drop in a position determination space, where the device has a camera having an objective and a beam splitter in the recording area of the camera, and the device is designed in such a way that light coming from the position determination space can enter the objective of the camera along a first light path as well as along a second light path, where light along the first light path can be reflected at a first reflector element in the direction of the beam splitter and can be transmitted through the beam splitter towards the objective, and where light along the second light path can be reflected at a second reflector element in the direction of the beam splitter and can be reflected at the beam splitter towards the objective.

The present invention provides cartridges, apparatuses, and methods for sample containment during acoustic levitation. The cartridges comprise at least one sidewall, which contacts an upper wall to enclose a levitation chamber. A chamber inlet provides access to insert a sample. The lower face of the cartridges can be open or enclosed by a lower film or wall.

System and methods are described herein for detecting positions or trajectories and/or controlling directions of charged droplets during travel. The systems and methods are useful for determining the locations of the charged droplets in real-time based on signals induced in the electrodes of a sensor surrounding an aperture through which the charged droplet passes in flight from the source well to the target. The signals from the sensor electrodes can be measured and used to determine a position or trajectory of the droplet. The systems and methods are useful for modifying trajectories of the charged droplets in real-time, such as based on determined positions identified as having a trajectory deviating from the target. The trajectories can be modified by applying voltages to electrodes surrounding an aperture through which the charged droplet passes in flight from the source well to the target.