Electrophoresis, Vol.40, No.10, 1400-1407, 2019
A simple electrical approach to monitor dielectrophoretic focusing of particles flowing in a microchannel
This paper reports an impedance-based system for the quantitative assessment of dielectrophoretic (DEP) focusing of single particles flowing in a microchannel. Particle lateral positions are detected in two electrical sensing zones placed before and after a DEP-focusing region, respectively. In each sensing zone, particle lateral positions are estimated using the unbalance between the opposite pulses of a differential current signal obtained with a straightforward coplanar electrode configuration. The system is used to monitor the focusing of polystyrene beads of 7 or 10m diameter, under various conditions of DEP field intensities and flow rates that produce different degrees of focusing. This electrical approach represents a simple and valuable alternative to optical methods for monitoring of particle focusingsystems.
Keywords:Coplanar electrodes;Dielectrophoresis;Electrical impedance;Microfluidics;Position detection