Numerical comparison between nonisolated and isolated metal-electrode-based dielectrophoresis cell separation

Abstract

The effects of electrode isolation on dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based cell separation devices are discussed. In this study, the conventional dielectrophoresis forces using interdigitated electrode arrays are numerically investigated in the presence of a dielectric layer between electrodes and electrolytes and compared with the direct contact model. It is observed that insertion of a dielectric as an isolation layer affects the spectral response of the DEP forces, as a result of the frequency dependence of the fields. The cells under study are live and dead yeast cells and an isolation layer is developed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer.