Prediction of physical properties of yeast cell suspensions using dielectric spectroscopy

This work concerns the modelling of the dielectric properties of biological cell suspensions. The relative permittivity of a suspension is proportional to the volume fraction of suspended cells but it would be more useful to know the average cell radius and number density separately. A non-linear least squares algorithm, based on the Levenberg-Marquardt technique, has been developed to predict these industrially important cell features using a simple spherical shell model along with the Cole-Cole equation. A new RC circuit model of a typical cell has also been developed to try to explain the electrical properties of a cell suspension.