Abstract
Since separation of target biomolecules is a crucial step for highly sensitive and selective detection of biomolecules, hence, various technologies have been applied to separate biomolecules, such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), protein, exosome, virus, etc. Among the various technologies, dielectrophoresis (DEP) has the significant advantage that the force can provide two different types of forces, attractive and repulsive DEP force, through simple adjustment in frequency or structure of microfluidic chips. Therefore, in this review, we focused on separation technologies based on DEP force and classified various separation technologies. First, the importance of biomolecules, general separation methods and various forces including DEP, electrophoresis (EP), electrothermal flow (ETF), electroosmosis (EO), magnetophoresis, acoustophoresis (ACP), hydrodynamic, etc., was described. Then, separating technologies applying only a single DEP force and dual force, moreover, applying other forces simultaneously with DEP force were categorized. In addition, advanced technologies applying more than two different kinds of forces, namely complex force, were introduced. Overall, we critically reviewed the state-of-the-art of converged various forces for detection of biomolecules with novelty of DEP.
Highlights
In biomedical applications, detecting and analyzing specific biomolecules is important for successful investigation of physiological mechanisms by discovering new roles of biomolecules and for accurately diagnosing of various diseases
Depending on the complexity of the utilized forces, the separating techniques of biomolecules were categorized into a single DEP force, two different forces, and more complex forces usage to show the variable applications of DEP force in convergence of various forces
When the electrolyte is injected into the microfluidic channel which is electrically negative, ions are adsorbed onto the surface of the channel, forming electric double layer (EDL) at the interface between the surface and the electrolyte fluid
Summary
In biomedical applications, detecting and analyzing specific biomolecules is important for successful investigation of physiological mechanisms by discovering new roles of biomolecules and for accurately diagnosing of various diseases. Most of biomolecules are present in complex biological buffers composed of tens or thousands of components, such as blood A technique, such as sorting, isolation or filtration for separating various biomolecules, is required in order for accurate detection and analysis a specific biomolecule. There are representative methods for separating various biomolecules such as DNA, protein or exosomes: polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [5], electrophoresis (EP) [6], magnetic force with bead [7], dielectrophoresis (DEP) [4], etc. More complex separation techniques using physical and biochemical reactions are spotlighted compared to conventional separation methods For this reason, various forces should be applied to detect the target molecules by sorting, isolation or filtration. Depending on the complexity of the utilized forces, the separating techniques of biomolecules were categorized into a single DEP force, two different forces, and more complex forces usage to show the variable applications of DEP force in convergence of various forces
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