Modeling of on-chip (bio)-particle separation and counting using 3D electrode structures

Abstract

In lab-on-a-chip applications, manipulation and quantification of (bio)particles is required in a variety of biomedical applications such as drug screening, disease detection and treatment. For manipulation of particles, electrical techniques such as dielectrophoresis (DEP) is very suitable. For the quantification or counting of the bioparticles, flow cytometer, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and magneticactivated cell sorting (MACS) are common techniques. In this study, modeling of microfluidic (bio)-particle separation based on dielectrophoresis and counting based on capacitance measurement using COMSOL Multiphysics have been presented. The device performance with planar and 3D electrode structures have been compared. Microfluidic devices with an asymmetric pair (for separation) and a symmetric pair (for counting) of electrodes are considered. The effects of the geometrical parameters, material properties, flow rate, particle size and applied voltage on the device performance have been discussed. The fabrication procedure of 3D electrode structures is also addressed.