Dielectrophoretic applications for disease diagnostics using lab-on-a-chip platforms

Abstract

Dielectrophoresis is a powerful technique used to distinguish distinct cellular identities in heterogeneous cell populations and to monitor changes in the cell state without the need for biochemical tags, including live and dead cells. Recent studies in the past decade have indicated that dielectrophoresis can be used to discriminate the disease state of cells by exploring the differences in the dielectric polarizabilities of the cells. Factors controlling the dielectric polarizability are dependent on the conductivity and permittivity of the cell and the suspending medium, the cell morphology, the internal structure, and the electric double layer effects associated with the charges on the cell surface. Diseased cells, such as those associated with malaria, cancer, dengue, anthrax and human African trypanosomiasis, could be spatially trapped by positive dielectrophoresis or spatially separated from other healthy cells by negative dielectrophoretic forces. The aim of this review was to provide a better and deeper understanding on how dielectrophoresis can be utilized to manipulate diseased cells. This review compiles and compares the significant findings obtained by researchers in manipulating abnormal or unhealthy cells.

Recent advances in direct current electrokinetic manipulation of particles for microfluidic applications

“…DEP is the motion of a particle, regardless of surface charge, in response to a nonuniform electric field (either DC or AC) as a result of the difference in polarizability between the particle and the suspending fluid [28]. Since its discovery 50 years ago [76], DEP has become a powerful tool in manipulating various micro/nano-sized particles due to its high sensitivity [77][78][79][80][81]. It has thus far been implemented in primarily two forms: the traditional electrode-based DEP (eDEP) [82][83][84][85] and the emerging iDEP [86][87][88][89].…”

Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies for the Single Cell Level: Separation, Analysis, and Diagnostics

“…Thus, the coulomb forces generated on both sides of the dipole/particle are different, and a net force drags the particle across the gradient. The direction and strength of this force depends on many factors, both of the particle itself and the surrounding medium including the particles exact shape [86] and the frequency of the alternating current (AC) electric field [54]. For more details, see a recent review by Adekanmbi and Srivastava [86].…”

Dielectrophoresis for Biomedical Sciences Applications: A Review

“…In Phol’s paper, he defined DEP as a phenomenon seen in the relative motion of suspensions and media resulting from polarization forces produced by an inhomogeneous electric field. Since then, DEP research has expanded into various fields in the industry, including microfluidics [22,23], biosensors [24,25], environmental studies [26,27] and medical diagnostics [28,29]. …”