This report presents a new approach to streak seeding based on
custom-designed silicon microtools. Experimental data shows that the
microtools produce similar results to the commonly-used boar
bristles. One advantage to using silicon is that it is rigid and can
easily serve as an accurately calibrated end-effector on a
microrobotic system. Additionally, the fabrication technology allows
for the production of microtools of various shapes and sizes. A
working prototype of an automatic streak seeding system based on these
microtools was built and successfully applied for protein
crystallization.