Dielectrophoresis in a slanted microchannel for separation of microparticles and bacteria

Abstract

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an effective method to trap, manipulate and separate various dielectric particles. To generate a DEP force, a spatially nonuniform electrical field has been generated by an array of electrodes, while electrodeless DEP has been accomplished by placing an insulating material between two electrodes. Here, we describe a new DEP method for generating a nonuniform electrical field using a slanted microchannel. The electric field gradient is induced due to a slope in the channel and can be used to move and separate particles. Based on the gradual electric field induced by three dimensional structure of the microchannel, our method enables particles of different sizes to be separated solely by DEP force without flow. The slanted microchannel was easily fabricated by a replica molding technique using a commercial UV-cured photopolymer (NOA 63) and bonded as an insulating layer between two indium-tin-oxide films. By applying the electrical field, polystyrene beads of different sizes (6-45 mu m in diameter) were trapped and separated depending on the applied electric strength and frequency. Using this method, the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa attached to antibody-conjugated microbeads was successfully separated from Escherichia coli in a slanted microchannel.