Dielectric characteristics of deformable and maneuverable virtual cathode tool displayed by indirect electron beam drawing

Abstract

Dielectrophoretic manipulations are deft techniques for soft-matter processes. To actuate the target biomolecules more spatiotemporally, the manipulator which can maneuver the adjustable electric field at high speed is required. We have designed a virtual cathode (VC) tool drawn with an electron beam (EB), which is a deformable and maneuverable electrode. In this report, we investigated the electrochemical response of YOYO-1-labeled DNAs by applying the VC tool and evaluated dependency of its dielectric characteristics on pattern frequency. The specific fluorescent bleaching responses we obtained suggested that work lengths and strength of the VC-induced electric field were enhanced as the applied VC pattern has a high pattern frequency. Moreover, we validated the form of the EB-drawing pattern can also affect dielectric characteristics of the VC tool. These results therefore indicate that the VC tool can control the dielectric phenomenon by a well-tuned tool design, which will lead to more flexible manipulations.