FACTORS AFFECTING DIELECTROPHORETIC SEPARATION OF CELLS USING HIGH-GRADIENT ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH SYSTEM

An investigation on dielectrophoretic separation of cells has been conductedusing high-gradient electric field system (HGES). The HGES system consistedof two concentric cylindrical electrodes whereby the space between them wasfilled with glass beads. The glass beads were found to distort the electric fieldgenerated between the two electrodes and thus creating a high field gradientsites that produce dielectrophoretic force for cells collection. In order to studythe effectiveness of the system in separating the cells, a series of experimentshave been conducted. Here, yeast cells were introduced into the system and thenumber of cells collected was measured. The effects of voltage, flow rate, typeof matrix, height of matrix and sample concentration have been investigated. Inaddition, the electric field analysis for the HGES has also been carried out usingFEMLAB. Results show that the cells collection is influenced by the effect atthe condition with and without electric field. Further analysis on theinvestigating factors enabled one to predict optimum values for voltage, flowrate, type of matrix, and height of matrix and sample concentration in order toimprove the efficiency of the system by reducing the effect when no field isapplied.