Abstract
We explore the use of dielectrophoresis to discern the electrical properties of single cells by observing them at multiple frequencies. We first simulate experimental conditions to show that as we increase the number of measured frequencies, we are able to better discriminate among different cells. Furthermore, we use the simulation to find the optimal number and value of frequencies to use to best discriminate among different cells in general. We then fabricate a microfluidic device, calibrate it with polystyrene beads, and characterize it with BA/F3 cells. With this device, we test three different activation levels of HL60 cells treated with cytochalasin D using the optimal frequency sequence obtained in simulation to determine the differences in discrimination abilities depending on the number of frequencies used. We quantify the discrimination abilities of the optimal one, two, and three frequencies by minimizing 0-1 loss.
Highlights
Cell-based assays in microfluidics are of significant importance, being employed for basic science as well as the diagnosis of disease[1]
In 2013 we introduced the DEP spring, in which a DEP force induced by coplanar electrodes exerts a force that is balanced by fluid drag, resulting in a well-defined balance position[23]
The upper bound on the number of balance positions that one can measure are based on the flowrate and the imaging field-of-view
Summary
Cell-based assays in microfluidics are of significant importance, being employed for basic science as well as the diagnosis of disease[1]. One popular class of label-free cellbased assay examines cells’ electrical properties. There currently are three central methods of analyzing single cells by their electrical properties: electrorotation, impedance cytometry, and dielectrophoresis[8,9,10]. Each method has tradeoffs in their throughput and specificity (based on the depth of analysis of each cell). Measurement of the rotational velocity allows estimation of the electrical properties of cells. Electrorotation has been extended to allow for analysis of hundreds of cells at once[13]. Acquiring a full spectrum for a single cell takes around 30 min[10,14,15], which lowers throughput
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