Rapid, low cost microfabrication technologies toward realization of devices for dielectrophoretic manipulation of particles and nanowires

This paper describes rapid, low cost microfabrication technologies used to fabricate dielectrophoresis (DEP) devices that can be used for manipulation, enrichment and separation of particles, microorganisms, and nanowires. Dielectrophoresis-based manipulation has tremendous potential for application as an integral part of biochips, micro-total-analysis systems, and lab-on-a-chip technologies. All DEP devices have microelectrodes (Ti/Au or Cr/Au) defined on a glass substrate. Different glass substrates have been used including soda-lime glass and Pyrex, and a microchannel has been fabricated using parylene, stereolithography-based resins, SU-8, and PDMS. Bonding has been performed using several simple techniques. These technologies, whose advantages and disadvantages are described, are potentially biocompatible making them ideal for separation or concentration of microbiological organisms. Microfabrication can be done rapidly, which makes it ideal for mass production, and the fabrication costs are low.