Design and testing of the oblique and V-shaped Cu-ITO microelectrode arrays to generate dielectrophoretic force on red blood cells Edwar Iswardy, Khazanna, Elin Yusibani, Mursal, Kurnia Lahna, Sri Fitriyani
1 Department of Physics Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 23111
2 Master Program in Physics, Department of Dental Materials, Faculty of Dentistry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 23111
3 Department of Dental Materials, Faculty of Dentistry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 23111
Abstract
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a phenomenon in which a force is applied to a particle induced by a gradient of an electric field. The dielectrophoretic technique is popular for manipulating bioparticles, because it requires only a small sample, is label-free, rapid, and inexpensive. Manipulation of biosample can be in the form of monitoring, separation, sorting, capturing, etc., so that the DEP method can be applied as a biosample analysis tool. However, research on the application of the DEP method is still developing on various electrode arrays and bioparticles. In this work, a lab-on-chip device with an oblique and V-shaped 3D microelectrode array has been developed to manipulate red blood cells using the dielectrophoresis (DEP) method. The microelectrodes were fabricated with copper and indium tin oxide films on a glass substrate, while the microchannel was constructed using double-sided tape insulators. Red blood cell samples were prepared in deionized water and EDTA medium with an electrical conductivity of 1.5 S/m. The test of dielectrophoretic force characteristics on red blood cells was carried out by applying an AC signal to the microelectrode, and the phenomenon was observed using a microscope with a CCD camera. The results showed that negative DEP forces were observed at frequencies of 5-7 MHz, 3.5-5 MHz, and 2-4 MHz in the oblique electrode spacing area and in the middle area of the V-shaped electrode curve. While positive DEP forces were observed at frequencies of 8-14 MHz, 6-13 MHz, and 5-11 MHz in the edge area of the oblique electrode and in the inner tip area of the V-shaped electrode curve, respectively at voltages of 5 Vpp, 10 Vpp, and 15 Vpp. The results of this work show the promising potential of lab-on-chip devices with oblique and V-shaped microelectrode arrangements to manipulate bioparticles so that biosamples can be further analyzed.
Keywords: Oblique and v-shaped microelectrodes, Dielectrophoresis, Red blood cells, Non-uniform electric field
