서강대학교

초록/요약

This paper deiscribe highly effiecient and high-throughput microparticle separation using gradient traveling wave dielectrophersis (TwDEP) with multi-layered microelectrode design. Although cell separation based on dielectrophoresis is very useful and versatile method, its throughput was relatively low compared to comeritially availble magnetic activated cell sorter (MACS). In case of a TwDEP based cell sorter, a microelectrode design with large area is required to achieve high-throughput separation. However, increase of the TwDEP device area, which is critical in throughput, has been limited, because of increase of resistance in microelectrodes. In this study, I successfully developed a novel gradient TwDEP chip with extremely large area (31 × 25 mm2) using a unique multi-layered bus bar design. The proposed bus bar design, which divides four AC input signals into two groups (one is for 0˚ and 270˚ and the other is for 90˚ and 180˚), makes it possible to maintain low resistance in microelectrodes for TwDEP, in spite of increase of the device area. In addition, the proposed microelectrode track design with the gradually increased gaps between electrodes from 10 to 40 μm was introduced, so that TwDEP force and negative DEP force that balanced with gravity force were decreased gradually along the microelectrode track, and finally, microparticles could be trapped at the specific locations according to their physical properties. I demonstrated the feasibility of our suggestion with latex microparticles (3 μm, 6 μm, 10 μm and 20 μm) and showed the potential of high throughput separation with TwDEP technique.