Sound carries energy that can exert forces on suspended microscopic objects such as blood cells and biological nanoparticles. My group studies the physics of ultrasonic waves that interacts with fluids and suspended objects.

We have discovered several phenomena that relate to how sound interacts with fluids and cells. We recently introduced and continue to explore the concept of thermoacoustic streaming, where ultrasound drives fast localised flows in a fluid that is heated by a laser. This can be used to control the location and rotation of small objects such as cells under a microscope inside micro-chambers.

We also study if different types of cells have specific sound properties that makes them distinguishable from other cells. For instance, we have observed that the cells in blood can become organised in a predictable way when packed closely together in a sound field. This is because red blood cells have sound properties that differ from those of, e.g. white blood cells. This can be used to gain access to rare cells directly from untreated blood.

In collaboration with biologists and biomedical researchers, we build instruments to separate cells and nanoparticles from complex biological fluids by ultrasound.