Dielectrophoresis for Bioengineering Applications and Some Associated Issues

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a phenomenon that occurs when a dielectric particle is placed in a nonuniform electric field. The force generated by the DEP phenomenon has been exploited for various micro- and nanofluidics applications like positioning, sorting and separation of particles involved in medical diagnostics, drug discovery, cell therapeutics, biosensors, microfluidics, nanoassembly, particle filtration, and so on. This chapter aims to identify some of the problems associated with evaluating the DEP forces experienced by particles. Specifically, we will illustrate the consequences of ignoring some of the crucial factors. In addition, we will demonstrate the advantages of a new volumetric method we have developed for quantifying the DEP forces in investigating the alignment and movement of multiple particles under DEP.