When tiny objects are exposed to steep temperature gradients in fluids, they may move along the temperature gradient. This temperature-induced migration is called thermophoresis. In general, objects move from the hot side to the cold side, but in some cases, movement in the opposite direction has been observed 3 : the former is called "thermophobic motion" and the latter "thermophilic motion." Although the thermophoresis, sometimes referred to as the Soret effect or thermodiffusion, was discovered in the 19th century, the past two decades have witnessed a surge of interest in microscale thermophoresis (MST) in liquids. This resurgence can be attributed to the pioneering work of Braun et al. in 2002, who demonstrated the manipulation of DNA by inducing thermophoretic motion through the localized heating of an aqueous solution with a focused nearinfrared laser. In principle, a temperature gradient of 10 5 to 10 6 K m -1 is required to induce the thermophoresis. By focusing laser light with an objective lens, a heating spot with a diameter of approximately 1 μm can be achieved, readily providing the necessary temperature gradient. A wide range of entities, including DNA, polystyrene and silica microparticles, plasmonic nanoparticles, Janus nanoparticles, surfactant micelles, polymers such as polyethylene glycol, vesicles, and E. coli bacteria, have been manipulated using MST in liquids.