Programmable Dielectrophoretic Chip for Cell Manipulations

Abstract

A dielectrophoretic (DEP) chip has been designed and fabricated for programmable manipulations of live cells, including the focusing and trapping of cells, and individual release of the target cells. The DEP chip consists of three layers of electrodes: an indium tin oxide (ITO) top electrode, middle electrodes with a focusing part and a trapping part on an SU-8 surface, and bottom releasing electrodes. In order to demonstrate the capability of multistep manipulations within a single chip, a PC-based program and an interface circuit were integrated with the DEP chip for the manipulation of human bladder cells (TSGH-8301). According to the simulation and experimental results, cells can be aligned along the gap of the focusing electrode and trapped into the microcavity by means of the negative DEP force between top and middle electrodes. Furthermore, the trapped cells can be released from the microcavity to the flow chamber by negative DEP force between the top and bottom electrodes. Consequently, the DEP chip provides an excellent platform technology for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) or micro-total-analysis-system (Micro TAS).