Cell characterisation and alignment using dielectrophoresis

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) uses AC electric fields to apply forces to suspended particles such as cells. It can be applied to suspended particles such as cells or bacteria but also to nanoparticles such as proteins a nano-wires. By selecting the right conditions DEP can be used to characterise the electrical properties of particles or manipulate them to align or separate particles.

By applying a range of frequencies and quantifying the strength and direction of the DEP force at each frequency, DEP has great potential for rapid non-invasive measurement of the electrical properties of cells. This has shown to have numerous applications in life science research, drug discovery and diagnostics. The aim is to improve DEP-characterisation of cells by developing new electrode geometries and hybrid techniques that can characterise properties of mixtures of different particles in an automated way.

DEP has further potential for the directed assembly of cell structure in tissue engineering and can be combined with photo-polymerised hydrogels to assemble complex geometries containing several different cell types. The resulting ’organ-on-a-chip’ structures bear a closer resemblance to mature tissue to allow meaningful in-vitro testing of new drugs or disease models.