Computer-aided analysis of conditions for optimizing practical electrorotation

Abstract

Previous studies have indicated that the variations in torque induced in particles in Electrorotation electrode arrays are sufficiently large to cause errors in electrorotation measurements. In order to avoid this, experimenters usually study particles bound by an arbitrary region near the centre of the electrodes. By simulating the time-dependent electric field for polynomial electrodes, we have assessed the variation in torque across the centre of the array. By considering both the variation in applied torque and the dielectrophoretic force in the electrode chamber, the optimal conditions for electrorotation experiments have been determined. Further to this, by comparing the torque variation across the electrode chamber for a number of common electrode designs, a comparison of the suitability of each electrode design for multi-particle Electrorotation analysis has been made.

AC electrokinetics: applications for nanotechnology

“…A common electrode configuration used in AC Electrokinetics research is a quadrupole arrangement where four electrodes point towards a central enclosed region [Huang and Pethig 1991], as shown in the schematic in figure 5. These electrodes may be of a variety of designs, according to the degree of field non-uniformity required [Hughes 1998]. The advantage with this arrangement is twofold.…”

Electromechanical effects on multilayered cells in nonuniform rotating fields

“…To generate the rotating field, the electrodes are driven by four sinusoidal voltages of equal amplitude V = 5 V successively phase-shifted by π/2 [13,39,40]. We study the frequency range from 10 kHz to 300 MHz and assume that the electrode response is linear, i.e., that no frequency components other than those applied to the electrodes can evolve in the chamber and that electrode polarization effects are negligibly small.…”

“…In Ref. [51] it is shown that the complex surface densityτ satisfies the integral equatioñ (13) whereτ 0 (r) = ε 0 E 0n (r), E 0n (r) is the normal component of the field produced by the external sources, and S is the interface. The generalization of Eq.…”

“…Since at this order the induced dipole is itself proportional to the applied field, controlling the square and the gradient of the square of the electric field are critical issues in the design of the electrodes that generate the rotating fields in an ER chamber [1,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Single-Cell Microbiology: Tools, Technologies, and Applications

“…When a cell is exposed to an electric field, a dipole is induced, whose character is dependent on the composition of the cell, the frequency of the applied electric field, and the conductivity of the medium in which the cell is suspended (107, 111, 131). In the presence of a rotating electric field, the dipole will form across the cell in synchrony with the rotation rate of the field (110). If the field is rotating with sufficiently high frequency, though, formation of the dipole may become asynchronous with the field's rotation rate.…”