The effect of trapping superparamagnetic beads on domain wall motion

Domain walls may act as localized field sources to trap and move superparamagnetic beads for manipulating biological cells and DNA. The interaction between beads of various diameters and a wall is investigated using a combination of micromagnetic and analytical models. Domain walls can transport beads under applied magnetic fields but the mutual attraction between the bead and wall causes drag forces affecting the bead to couple into the wall motion. Therefore, the interaction with the bead causes a fundamental change in the domain wall dynamics, reducing the wall mobility by five orders of magnitude. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3428775]