Charged Cell Research Articles

ELECTRICAL FORCES FOR MICROSCALE CELL MANIPULATION

Electrical forces for manipulating cells at the microscale include electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis. Electrophoretic forces arise from the interaction of a cell's charge and an electric field, whereas dielectrophoresis arises from a cell's polarizability. Both forces can be used to create microsystems that separate cell mixtures into its component cell types or act as electrical "handles" to transport cells or place them in specific locations. This review explores the use of these two forces for microscale cell manipulation. We first examine the forces and electrodes used to create them, then address potential impacts on cell health, followed by examples of devices for both separating cells and handling them.

A Multiphase Mathematical Model of a Nickel/Hydrogen Cell

A mathematical model for a nickel/hydrogen cell is developed to investigate the dynamic performance of the cell's charge and discharge processes. Concentrated solution theory and the volume averaging technique are used to characterize the transport phenomena of the electrolyte and other species in the porous electrode and separator. Other physical fundamentals, such as Ohm's law, are employed to describe the electrical and other physical processes in the cell. The model is designed to predict the distribution of electrolyte, hydrogen, and oxygen concentrations within the cell, hydrogen and oxygen pressure, potential, current density, electrochemical reaction rates, and state of charge. The model can be used to evaluate the influences of all the physical, design, and operation parameters on the behavior of a nickel‐hydrogen cell. The model simulations show excellent agreement with experimental data for charge and discharge operations. The model simulations show the formation of a secondary discharge plateau by the end of discharge. This plateau is caused by oxygen reduction at the nickel electrode. It is the first model that predicts this feature, which is a characteristic of the nickel electrode. The model simulations also show the existence of an optimum charge rate that maximizes the charge efficiency, which can be used for the implementation of optimal operating conditions.