We manufactured a prototype of individually controlled microrotors that are used as pumps in microfluidic devices. The rotors are assembled from micrometer-sized superparamagnetic beads and driven by an external magnetic field. Microrotors pump the fluid, while patterned electrodes enable individual control of their rotation frequency and direction of pumping.
F.08 Development and manufacture of a prototype
COBISS.SI-ID: 2184036Magnetooptical tweezers, a unique experimental setup that was developed in our laboratory, is a combination of optical tweezers and external homogeneous magnetic field. It has already been found very suitable for a variety of experiments in fundamental research and useful in technological applications. The successful combination of the two methods enables us precise measurements and consequently comparative experiments, which are crucial for controlled and systematic investigations of new materials. The optical tweezers setup is being commercialised by a high-tech company Aresis, d.o.o. (www.aresis.com). We also co-operated in the development of "Laser Direct Imaging" system that is used for soft-lithography. The system directly writes lithographic patterns into photoresist using a focused UV laser beam. The system is being commercialised by a high-tech company LPKF Lasers & Electronics, d.o.o (www.lpkf.si).
F.06 Development of a new product
COBISS.SI-ID: 25297447A member of the project group developed user-friendly software for analysis of videomicroscopy films. The main features of the program are "smart" detection of particles, which are followed through the whole film, and automatic extraction of trajectories from videos. The software is now being widely used – by four research groups in Slovenia only – as a tool to analyse colloidal physics and soft-matter experiments. The software has been used in experiments published in at least ten publications, including five in Physical Review Letters. Additionally, software for calibration of optical tweezers and quick characterization of optical traps based on trajectory of the trapped particle has also been developed.
F.11 Development of a new service
COBISS.SI-ID: 23912487Organisation of the 8th conference in the series of SloNano meetings, which took place in October 2009 at the National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana. With over international 120 participants and several distinguished invited speakers, the conference is clearly gaining on its international importance on the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. SloNano 2009 concentrated on two very current major topics: "Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion" and "BioNanotechnology". Additional sections included Nanomaterials, New Materials and Biomimetics.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 23023143All project team members actively participate in educational activities at University of Ljubljana. We worked as teaching assistants for Electrooptics, Laser Physics and Physics Laboratory 4 for physicists at Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (FMF); for Physics for students of Graphic and Interactive Communication at Faculty for Natural Science and Engineering; for Medical Physics at FMF and for Biophysics for Microbiology students at Faculty of Biotechnology. The project team leader is the research supervisor of one young researcher, who started his PhD in 2009 and will successfully finish in March 2013, and one member of the group was co-advisor of one diploma thesis in 2011.
D.09 Tutoring for postgraduate students