Array of Metallic Singularities for the High Density Cell Placement on a Microfluidic Chip

Dielectrophoresis is an efficient technique often used to handle or trap micro-/nano-particles within microfluidic devices. For that purpose, arrays of insulating materials disposed between polarization electrodes are classically used to generate the necessary dielectrophoresis forces. In this paper, a novel method is proposed where metallic micro dots are arrayed to generate strong field inhomogeneities, that permit the efficient cell placement as an array. As these micro dots are not connected (electrodes with floating potential), high density of dielectrophoretic traps can be achieved. We demonstrate in this paper the capability to trap particles using such metallic micro dots array with high density.