Electrical characterization of single cell in microfluidic device

Abstract

This paper introduces a study of single cell in a microfluidic device constructed from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) technology, used to measure the characterization of single cell under liquid medium. The microfluidic device combines a microfluidic structure to capture single cell level and a coplanar waveguide electrode inside a channel to measure the impedance of a single HeLa cell (human cervical epithelioid carcinoma). The electrical characterization of a single cell is demonstrated using a two-port vector network analyzer (VNA) in the frequency range of 1 MHz–1 GHz. The validity of the electrical equivalent model in this study is asserted through measurements of cell impedance in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) liquid, as well as electrical simulations of a single HeLa cell experiment compared with measurements.