Research Progress on Microfluidic Chip of Cell Separation Based on Dielectrophoresis

Cell separation technology is an important means for cell sorting and cell-population purification. It is the current international hotspot in biochemical analysis which is widely applied in many fields such as biology, medicine, agriculture, and environment. This review introduces the development status of cell separation using microfluidic chip based on dielectrophoresis (DEP). It expounds the working principle of DEP and the key factors that impact the DEP of cell separation such as cellular size, electrode shapes and signals. Finally, it forecasts the future development trend of cell separation using microfluidic chip based on DEP.

As for the separation of cell or particles by microfluidic chip based on dielectrophoretic field-flow-fractionation (DEP-FFF), the height of the cell location depends on the equilibrium of DEP and sedimentation (Fsed) forces, and the cells with different size would locate at different height, subject to different flow rate and separate to different outlets finally.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide