Integrated planar concentric ring dielectrophoretic (DEP) levitator

In the present paper, the design, fabrication and testing of a microchip based planar concentric ring DEP levitator is presented. The performance of the planar microchip levitator is verified using model plant cells and compares favorably with the conventional 3D cone–plate used in previous work. Broad frequency band DEP levitation measurements on plant protoplasts suggest that the microchip based positive DEP levitation is certainly practical and perhaps a more suitable alternative to the conventional 3D electrode system. Furthermore, integration of on chip cell position sensing and control electronics will provide a microchip based automated noninvasive tools for manipulating and fingerprinting individual living cells.