Selecting an electrode structure for cell sorting by differential dielectric affinity

This paper focuses on the application of dielectrophoresis to on-chip cell sorting. Differential dielectric affinity separation is a "binary" technique, dividing a cell mixture into two distinct sub-populations. The principle and efficiency of this method are illustrated by potential energy plots of cells exposed to negative and positive dielectrophoresis. This paper aims at comparing several microelectrode structures, either bipolar or quadrupolar, in order to guide the choice of a geometry facilitating the sorting operation. This comparison relies on a 3D finite-elements calculation of the potential energy profiles obtained for each electrode shape.