| Summary: | Directed or selective assembly can create ordered microsystems for a broad range of applications from sensing to the life sciences. One example is templated assembly by selective removal (TASR), which has been shown to be able to selectively assemble microscale objects and biological cells by size into predetermined locations on a 2D surface based on the surface's geometry and acoustic excitation. Although directed assembly excels at ordering structures on exposed 2D surfaces, it is less well developed for forming 3D and hierarchical architectures such as are typically required for metamaterials, tissue engineering or medical diagnostic devices. One potential solution to the challenge of creating 3D and hierarchical systems using directed assembly is to integrate the assembly techniques with other microscale technologies such as microfluidics or the folding of 2D surfaces into the third dimension. However, the physics of directed assembly processes a not independent of their context, and applying directed assembly to folding and microfluidic systems requires that their physics be understood and taken into account. This research examines the engineering principles that underlie the integration of the TASR process into folding and microfluidic systems and demonstrates TASR's successful integration into these systems.
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