Open AccessAC electrokinetics based capture of yeast cells from ultra‐fast through‐flow for sensitive detection
Author(s) -
Yuan Quan,
Islam Nazmul,
Wu Jie
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
micro and nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1750-0443
DOI - 10.1049/mnl.2017.0424
Subject(s) - electrokinetic phenomena , microfluidics , trapping , materials science , signal (programming language) , dielectrophoresis , volumetric flow rate , voltage , alternating current , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , flow (mathematics) , particle (ecology) , lab on a chip , flow velocity , computer science , electrical engineering , physics , mechanics , ecology , oceanography , engineering , geology , biology , programming language
This work presents a three‐dimensional multi‐level microfluidic device that enables yeast cell trapping via alternating current (AC) electrokinetics (ACEK) from a rapid through‐flow of sample fluids. ACEK is a versatile technique to control and manipulate cells and microparticles at the micro/nano‐scale. Here the trapping device works by applying an AC signal over a pair of electrode across a flow‐through channel to capture bioparticles from an ultra‐fast through‐flow. The particle capture effect by ACEK was experimentally studied by measuring the cell densities at the inlet and outlet of the micro‐channel. Both symmetric AC signal and DC biased AC signal were used to achieve cell trapping. It is found that DC biased ACEK effect is highly capable of capturing cells from a rapid through‐flow. A trapping efficiency of 56.8% has been obtained from an ultra‐fast external flow with its average velocity at 4.44 mm/s. The merits of ACEK include low‐voltage electrical operation, which is suitable for portable lab‐on‐a‐chip systems. These devices offer numerous benefits for biological applications such as medical diagnostics, detection, drug screening, and particle trapping.