Dielectric Characterization and Multistage Separation of Various Cells via Dielectrophoresis in a Bipolar Electrode Arrayed Device

Abstract

Isolation of microalgal cells is as an indispensable part of producing biofuels for energy security and detecting toxic contaminants for marine routine monitoring. Microalgae live together with various microalgae naturally, and abundant samples need to be tackled in practical applications. Therefore, effective separation technologies need to be developed urgently to achieve high-throughput separation of various microalgae. Herein, we develop a reliable device to characterize the dielectric response of microalgae and sequentially separate various microalgae utilizing dielectrophoretic force in a bipolar electrode (BPE) arrayed device. First, by investigating the array width extension (AWE) effect on the electric- and flow-field distributions, we explore consequences of incidental electrohydrodynamic mechanisms and axial flow rate on the separation. Second, based on device performance on sample characterizations, we demonstrate this technology by separating microparticles in three- and five-channel devices. Third, we discriminate dead and live cells to explore its capability using the cell viability test and illustrate the AWE influence on the separation. Fourth, we characterize dielectric responses of different microalgae and separate C. vulgaris and Oocystis sp. Finally, we extended BPEs in length and developed an arrayed device for sequential separation of various microalgae, and this platform is successfully engineered in high-throughput isolation of C. vulgaris from complex samples. This technology presents good potential in addressing depleting fossil fuel and burgeoning environmental concerns due to its performance in the separation of microalgal strains from complex samples.

Dielectrophoretic assembly and separation of particles and cells in continuous flow

“…Details of device fabrication are presented in Fig. S1 † 33 . The actual photograph of the device to study the assembly and separation of particles and cells is presented in Fig.…”

“…According to the interaction between particles and electric eld, DEP separation approaches can be divided into the following three types: pDEP-force based, [27][28][29] nDEPforce based, 30,31 and hybrid DEP force based methods. 21,32,33 DEP separation techniques have outstanding advantages in the selection of targeted cells and particles, which can effectively address the important issues in many elds, such as biology, 1,2 medicine, 7 and the environment. 5,6 However, the assembly of cells under DEP force is inevitable, and formation of cell chains has certain inuences on the separation results.…”

DC-Dielectrophoretic Manipulation and Isolation of Microplastic Particle-Treated Microalgae Cells in Asymmetric-Orifice-Based Microfluidic Chip

“…Dielectrophoresis refers to the movement of polarized particles suspended in a dielectric solution due to the polarization difference between the particles and the suspension in a non-homogeneous electric field. Generally, a non-homogeneous electric-field gradient can be induced by applying the alternating current (AC) electric fields through the embedded micro-electrode array with patterned geometry and structure inside the microchannel [ 16 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ] or the direct current (DC) electric field via the external electrodes over arrays of patterns of insulating obstacles or hurdles across the whole channel [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. When applying high-electricity fields, the particle may exhibit a nonlinear electrophoresis effect [ 30 , 31 ].…”

Separation of microalgae cells in a microfluidic chip based on AC Dielectrophoresis

“…Wang et al 40 successfully separated two kinds of microalgae cells and polystyrene particles by AC-DEP. Jiang et al 41 designed a bipolar electrode array based on AC-DEP technology that can achieve high-throughput separation of complex samples and they successfully separated C. vulgaris from complex samples. In addition, DEP technology has been widely used to capture and arrange microalgae cells for subsequent detection and analysis.…”

“…successfully separated two kinds of microalgae cells and polystyrene particles by AC‐DEP. Jiang et al 41 . designed a bipolar electrode array based on AC‐DEP technology that can achieve high‐throughput separation of complex samples and they successfully separated C. vulgaris from complex samples.…”