Dielectrophoresis study of electroporation effects on Chinese hamster ovary cells

Abstract

Electroporation affects the dielectric properties of cells by creating pores in their membrane which allow transport of ions. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a powerful technique to investigate electroporation of single biological cells. Here we study the frequency dependent response of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and investigate the effect of different cell parameters on the DEP spectra. The results suggest low frequency DEP application (less than 200 kHz) for investigating the cell membrane conductivity, mid frequency DEP application (1-30 MH) for investigating the cell cytoplasm conductivity, and high frequency DEP application (greater than 100 MHz) for investigating cell cytoplasm permittivity.