Size-based particles separation utilizing dielectrophoresis technique

Abstract

This paper describes separation of 3 μm and 10 μm polystyrene particles using dielectrophoresis (DEP) technique. An array of tapered square electrodes with size of 1mm × 1mm and gap size of 80 μm are used in this study. the optimum input frequency in separation for both engineered particles by using droplet technique. Experiment was conducted under negative dielectrophoresis (NDEP), positive dielectrophoresis (PDEP) and crossover frequency of this engineered particles with range 0 to 1.5 MHz. Implementation of dielectrophoresis prove that the capability to manipulate particles based on input frequency tuned at 265 kHz which is FDEP equal to zero. The separation characteristic of polystyrene particles is compare with the separation characteristic of real biological cells i.e red blood cell (RBC) and platelet. Possible application of dielectrophoresis in separation is blood component separation.