Modeling and measurement of dielectrophoretic force and 2-D trajectories of microspheres in quadrupole electrode configuration

In this work, we propose a new modeling approach for two-dimensional simulation of microsphere motion under negative dielectrophoretic (DEP) force in quadrupole electrode configuration using relaxation method and MATLAB. We have experimentally verified the trajectories and the DEP force exhibited in this configuration. The targeted microspheres are polystyrene microspheres and mouse fibroblasts (NIH3T3), cells which are frequently used in combination with BioMEM devices. Our modeling and experimental results for the DEP force and the trajectories for both targeted microspheres are in good agreement.