• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.261-264
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• 2009

We present a three-dimensional (3D) particle focusing channel using the positive dielectrophoresis (pDEP) guided by a dielectric structure between two planar electrodes. The dielectric structure between two planar electrodes induces the maximum electric field at the center of the microchannel, and particles are focused to the center of the microchannel by pDEP as they flow from the single sample injection port. Compared to the previous 3D particle focusing methods, the present device achieves the simple and effective particle focusing function without any additional fluidic ports and top electrodes. In the experimental study, approximately 90 % focusing efficiency were achieved within the focusing length of 2mm, on both x-z plane (top-view) and y-z plane (side-view) for $2{\mu}m$-diameter polystyrene (PS) bead at the applied voltage over 15 Vp-p (square wave) and at the flow rate below 0.01 ${\mu}l$/min. The present 3D particle focusing channel results in a simple particle focusing method suitable for use in integrated microbiochemical analysis system.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.1 s.232
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• pp.53-58
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• 2005

We present a high-throughput continuous cell separation chip using hydrodynamic dielectrophoresis (DEP) process. The continuous cell separation chip uses three planar electrodes in a separation channel, where the positive DEP cells are moved away from the central streamline while the negative DEP cells remain in the central streamline. In the experimental study, we use the mixture of viable (live) and nonviable (dead) yeast cells in order to obtain the continuous cell separation conditions. For the conditions of the electric fields frequency of 5MHz and the medium conductivity of $5{\mu}S/cm$, the fabricated chip performs a continuous separation of the yeast cell mixture at the varying flow-rate in the range of $0.1{\sim}{\mu{\ell}/min$.; thereby, resulting in the purity ranges of $95.9{\sim}97.3\%\;and\;64.5{\sim}74.3\%$ respectively for the viable and nonviable yeast cells. present chip demonstrates the constant cell separation performance for varying mixture flow-rates.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.60-65
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• 2016

Purpose: The necessity for precise manipulation of bioparticles has greatly increased in the fields of bioscience, biomedical, and environmental monitoring. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is considered to be an ideal technique to manipulate bioparticles. The objective of this study is to develop a DEP microfluidic device that can trap fluorescent beads, which mimic bioparticles, at the low voltage and frequency of the sinusoidal signal supplied to the microfluidic device. Methods: A DEP microfluidic device, which is composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channels and interdigitated electrode networks, is fabricated to trap fluorescent beads. The geometry of the interdigitated electrodes is determined through computational simulation. To determine the optimum voltage and frequency of the sinusoidal signal supplied to the device, the experiments of trapping beads are conducted at various combinations of voltage and frequency. The performance of the DEP microfluidic device is evaluated by investigating the correlation between fluorescent intensities and bead concentrations. Results: The optimum ratio of the widths between the negative and positive electrodes was 1:4 ($20:80{\mu}m$) at a gap of $20{\mu}m$ between the two electrodes. The DEP electrode networks were fabricated based on this geometry and used for the bead trapping experiments. The optimum voltage and frequency of the supplied signal for trapping fluorescent beads were 15 V and 5 kHz, respectively. The fluorescent intensity of the trapped beads increased linearly as the bead concentration increased. The coefficient of determination ($R^2$) between the fluorescent intensity and the bead concentration was 0.989. Conclusions: It is concluded that the microfluidic device developed in this study is promising for trapping bioparticles, such as a cell or virus, if they are conjugated to beads, and their concentration is quantified.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2010

In this paper, the effect of electrical characteristics and electrode shape on the alignment and attachment of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) has been studied. The attraction and alignment of MWNTs between the gaps has been investigated by applying electric field which is called electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis. According to the frequency of electric field, positive or negative dielectrophoretic force can be determined. The concentration of MWNTs solution was $5\;{\mu}g/ml$, and a droplet of $1.0{\sim}1.5\;{\mu}l$ was dropped between two electrodes. Through the repeated experiments, the optimal electrical conditions for aligning and attaching MWNTs in the desired places were obtained. Since the frequency range of 100 kHz~10 MHz generated positive dielectrophoretic force, MWNTs were attracted and aligned between the gaps with this frequency range. For generating enough force to attract MWNTs, the appropriate voltage range was $0.3{\sim}1.3\;V_{rms}/{\mu}m$. Furthermore, the effect of electrode shape on the alignment of MWNTs was investigated. A single MWNT attachment was accomplished on the round shaped with 70% yield.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1994.11a
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• pp.425-427
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• 1994

A manipulator which can separate dielectric particles (biological cells) was fabricated on a silicon wafer using polyimide and n-type electroplating. It consists of 1024 electrode arrays ($60{\mu}m{\times}60{\mu}m$) and spacing insulator. Positive dielectrophoresis is used for attracting particles. We have the solution of 3-D laplace equation about this device and calculate the force acting on the particles. The solution has spatial periodicity in the x, y directions and decays exponentially in the z direction.