Abstract
In the present study, a novel microfluidic device capable of selectively isolating dead cells from live cells utilizing the difference in their electro-mechanical response to AC electric field was proposed. The device uses a planar electrode and a planar micro-electrode array in a separation flow channel, where the positive dielectrophoretic (DEP) cells are attracted toward the high-voltage micro-electrodes while the negative DEP cells are concentrated in the central streamline in the flow channel. The effect of different voltages and flow velocities in the flow channel on the device performance was investigated numerically. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the Langevin equation of particle kinetics were used to compute the trajectories of individual cells under the action of DEP, dipole-dipole intercellular, viscous, and gravitational forces in suspension media. It was found that this devise was able to achieve greater than 50% removal efficiency of dead cells at an applied voltage of 10V and 0.1 mm/s flow velocity.
