Distinguishing cells by their first-order transient motion response under an optically induced dielectrophoretic force field

Abstract

This letter reports our characterization of the transient motion of cells under an optically induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP) force field. Different types of human cells repeatably undergo a first-order transient motion response when subjected to a specific ODEP force field. A kernel function is derived to describe this transient motion. This function can be generally matched to experimental data for Raji cells and red blood cells by measuring two parameters: the initial velocity and the transient time-constant. They are uniquely different for Raji cells and RBCs. Support vector machine is used to distinguish between them based on their transient response characteristics. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.