There is a growing desire for cell rotation in the field of biophysics, bioengineering and biomedicine. We herein present novel microfluidic channels for simultaneous high-throughput cell self-rotation using local circular streaming generated by ultrasonic wave excited bubble arrays. The bubble traps achieve high homogeneity of liquid–gas interface by setting capillary valves at the entrances of dead-end bubble trappers orthogonal to the main microchannel. In such a highly uniform bubble array, rotation at different fields of bubble-relevant vortices is considered equal and interconvertible. The device is compatible with cells of various size and retains manageable rotation velocity when actuated by signals of varying frequency and voltage. Experimental observations were confirmed consistent with theoretical estimation and numerical simulation. Comparing with conventional approaches (e.g. mechanical contact based, dielectrophoresis, optical tweezers) of cell rotation, our device has multiple merits such as high throughput, low cost and simple fabrication procedure, and high compatibility for lab-on-chip integration. Therefore, the platform holds a promise in cell observation, medicine development and biological detection.

生物物理学、生物工程和生物医学领域对细胞旋转的需求日益增长。我们在此展示了使用由超声波激发气泡阵列产生的局部圆形流进行同步高通量细胞自旋转的新型微流体通道。通过在与主微通道正交的末端气泡捕集器的入口处设置毛细管阀，气泡捕集器实现了液-气界面的高度均匀性。在如此高度均匀的气泡阵列中，气泡相关涡旋的不同场的旋转被认为是相等且可相互转换的。该设备与各种尺寸的细胞兼容，并在由不同频率和电压的信号驱动时保持可控的旋转速度。实验观察证实与理论估计和数值模拟一致。与传统的细胞旋转方法（例如基于机械接触、介电泳、光镊）相比，我们的设备具有多种优点，例如高通量、低成本和简单的制造程序，以及对芯片实验室集成的高兼容性。因此，该平台在细胞观察、药物开发和生物检测方面具有广阔的前景。