A lab-on-a-chip for cell detection and manipulation

Presents a lab-on-a-chip for electronic manipulation and detection of microorganisms based on the use of closed dielectrophoretic (DEP) cages combined with impedance sensing. A printed circuit board (PCB) prototype has been used to trap, concentrate, and quantify polystyrene micro-beads in agreement with CAD simulations. The experiment was successfully repeated with S. cerevisiae. The results prove the effectiveness of the approach for particle manipulation and detection without the need for external optical components nor chemical labeling. With the proposed approach, particle concentration may be increased on-chip of more than three orders of magnitude, correspondingly boosting the detection sensitivity.