title: A scalable addressable positive-dielectrophoretic cell-sorting array.
abstract: We present the first known implementation of a passive, scalable architecture for trapping, imaging, and sorting individual microparticles, including cells, using a positive dielectrophoretic (p-DEP) trapping array. Our array-based technology enables "active coverslips" where, when scaled, many individually held cells can be sorted based upon imaged spatial or temporally variant characteristics. Our design incorporates a unique "ring-dot" p-DEP trap geometry organized in a row/column array format. This trap design, implemented in a two-level metal process, provides strong and highly spatially localized holding fields enabling single-cell capture for all traps in the array. We release individual trapped microparticles during sorting using a passive transistor-independent approach where we electrically ground the row and column electrodes associated with specific traps in the array. The demand for chip-to-world electrical connections in our arrays scales proportionally with the square root of the number of traps in a given array, delivering a substantial improvement over prior designs. We demonstrate capture, holding, and release operations with both beads and cells in small arrays of this new architecture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 36-854, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Taff
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Voldman
mesh_terms: D002469:Cell Separation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D046209:Electrophoresis, Microchip; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics