Dielectrophoresis measurement of bovine endothelial cells adhesion on different materials

Abstract

In this study, the design, fabrication, and characterization of dielectrophoresis based devices for the measurement of bovine endothelial cell adhesion on different biomaterials are conducted. During the design stage, the finite element analysis software COMSOL is used to determine a better design for the dielectrophoretic electrode. Accordingly, a dielectrophoretic device that contains several micro electrodes for producing unbalanced electrical fields is fabricated using the microelectromechanical fabrication technique. The proposed device is then used for the detection of cell adhesion on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly lactide (PLA) substrates. The hydrophilicity measurement results reveal that PLA is more hydrophilic than PDMS. It is inferred that bovine endothelial cell (BEC) should have better adhesion on PLA than on PDMA. However, the cell detachment results do not fully agree with this inference. It is further suggested that other features of the substrate are more crucial for the adhesion of BEC than the hydrophilicity. Cell detachment experiments demonstrate that the applied electrophoresis cannot detach the adhered BECs from a PDMS substrate when the seeding time is longer than 4 h. However, the dielectrophoretic force caused by a 6 V applied potential is enough to lift those cells cultured on the PLA for 4 and 6 h respectively. When the culture time is increased to 8 h, the cells apparently stretch out and a higher voltage is required to lift and move them. The results of the cell detachment experiments may suggest that the adherence of BEC to PLA is more stable after 8 h of seeding.