Image-based magnetic control of paramagnetic microparticles in water

This paper describes the design of a system for controlling the position of spherical paramagnetic microparticles that have an average diameter of 100 µm. The focus of this study lies in designing and implementing a system that uses microscopic images and electromagnets. Preliminary experiments have been done to verify the feasibility of the system to track and control the position of these particles. A vibrating sample magnetometer was used to determine the magnetic moment of the particles. Finite element method simulations were used to verify the magnetic behavior of the designed setup. The system was used to position the particles within 8.4µm of a setpoint, achieving speeds of up to 235µm s ⁻¹ . We also demonstrated that the particle could follow a circular and a figure-eight path.