Applications of Dielectrophoretic/Electrohydrodynamic “Zipper” Electrodes for Detection of Biological Nanoparticles

Abstract

A major problem for surface-based detection techniques such as surface plasmon resonance and quartz crystal microbalances is that at low concentrations, diffusion is an insuffi cient driving force to bring colloidal submicron-scale particles to the detection surface. In order to overcome this, it has previously been demonstrated that a combination of dielectrophoresis and AC-electro-hydrodynamic fl ow can be used to focus cell-sized particles from suspension onto a large metal surface, in order to improve the detection capabilities of such systems. In this paper we describe how the combination of these two phenomena, using the so-called “zipper” electrode array, can be used to concentrate a wide range of nanoparticles of biological interest, such as infl uenza virus, dissolved albumin, and DNA molecules as well as latex beads of various sizes. We also demonstrate that the speed at which particles are transported towards the centre of the electrode pads by dielectrophoresis and electro-hydrodynamic fl ow is not related to the particle size for colloidal particles.

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