Thermal analysis of cell electro-rotation chip

Abstract

Electrorotation method is a useful technique for characterizing dielectric properties of individual cells or particles. During the electrorotation process, a dielectric cell is subjected to rotating electric field of high frequency and its rotation speed is monitored. As high conductivity buffer is used in the process, heat is generated which in turn affects cell rotation performance. In this work, we present temperature analytical results of a 4-electrode electrorotation chip using finite element method. The simulation conditions include variation of applied voltage, buffer conductivity and material of the chip. We found that the applied voltage and conductivity of buffer used are two main factors affecting temperature rise in electrorotation process.