Light-controlled detachment of van der Waals adhered particles in solution with photoacoustic resonator

Abstract This letter investigates a method to control the detachment of van der Waals adhered particles via multi-mode photoacoustic resonance. By varying the coupling repetition frequency of the pumping light, we detach adhered particles and reverse the direction of their motion at will. Additionally, the centrifugal acceleration of the resonator increases linearly with the laser energy within the elastic limit with a maximum value of 1.89 × 106 m/s2, which corresponds to the smallest diameter ( 3 μ m ) of glass particles that can be detached. This research can be widely used for the separation, fixation, and collection of cells, large molecules, dust particulates, etc. in the fields of physics, biochemistry, and clinical medicine.