Signal-Based Methods in Dielectrophoresis for Cell and Particle Separation

Abstract

Separation and detection of cells and particles in a suspension are essential for various applications, including biomedical investigations and clinical diagnostics. Microfluidics realizes the miniaturization of analytical devices by controlling the motion of a small volume of fluids in microchannels and microchambers. Accordingly, microfluidic devices have been widely used in particle/cell manipulation processes. Different microfluidic methods for particle separation include dielectrophoretic, magnetic, optical, acoustic, hydrodynamic, and chemical techniques. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a method for manipulating polarizable particles’ trajectories in non-uniform electric fields using unique dielectric characteristics. It provides several advantages for dealing with neutral bioparticles owing to its sensitivity, selectivity, and noninvasive nature. This review provides a detailed study on the signal-based DEP methods that use the applied signal parameters, including frequency, amplitude, phase, and shape for cell/particle separation and manipulation. Rather than employing complex channels or time-consuming fabrication procedures, these methods realize sorting and detecting the cells/particles by modifying the signal parameters while using a relatively simple device. In addition, these methods can significantly impact clinical diagnostics by making low-cost and rapid separation possible. We conclude the review by discussing the technical and biological challenges of DEP techniques and providing future perspectives in this field.

High-Density Microporous Drainage-Integrating Sheath Flow Generator for Streamlining Microfluidic Cell Sorting Systems

“…In general, continuous particle/cell sorting techniques using microfluidics exploit differences in particle mobility in the lateral direction in laminar flow systems. Some of these techniques exert physical forces on cells as the driving forces for cell migration, as represented by dielectrophoresis, − acoustophoresis, − magnetophoresis, − and particle inertia raised by the flow, including Dean flow fractionation, inertial sorting, multiorifice fractionation, and centrifugation-assisted methods. , Purely hydrodynamic sorting techniques have also been studied, include pinched flow fractionation (PFF), , deterministic lateral displacement (DLD), , hydrodynamic filtration (HDF), , hydrodynamic migration-based separation, , and lattice-channel-based sorting. − These hydrodynamic mechanisms utilize branching channels or periodically arranged obstacles to selectively separate large and/or less deformable particles from the original flow of the particle suspension. A crucial requirement common to most of these methods for effective particle sorting is the introduction of sheath flow.…”

A microfluidic platform integrating dynamic cell culture and dielectrophoretic manipulation for in situ assessment of endothelial cell mechanics

“…Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an electric field-based non-contact and label-free method for cell manipulation; it has been extensively demonstrated in cell characterisation and separation in freeflow microfluidics due to its high-throughput assessment, low cost and great portability. [33][34][35] As such, DEP can be readily integrated in a microfluidic format and deserves to be a promising approach in the measurement of cell mechanical properties.…”

New Generation Dielectrophoretic-Based Microfluidic Device for Multi-Type Cell Separation

“…Interpretation of the “electrical signature” of biological cells has been widely recognized during the last decades as a feasible approach in medical application [ 1 ]. Different external stimuli such as electrical field for electrophoresis [ 2 , 3 ] and dielectrophoresis (DEP) [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], acoustic wave for acoustophoresis [ 8 ], magnetic field for magnetophoresis [ 9 , 10 ], and light beam for photophoresis [ 11 , 12 ] have been used to identify and sort target cells under various experimental conditions. Among them, DEP has become popular in manipulating bioparticles [ 1 , 13 , 14 ].…”