Dielectrophoretic tweezers as a platform for molecular force spectroscopy in a highly parallel format.

ABSTRACT: We demonstrated the application of a simple electrode geometry for dielectrophoresis (DEP) on colloidal probes as a form of molecular force spectroscopy in a highly parallel format. The electric field between parallel plates is perturbed with dielectric microstructures, generating uniform DEP forces on colloidal probes in the range of several hundred piconewtons across a macroscopic sample area. We determined the approximate crossover frequency between negative and positive DEP using electrodes without dielectric microstructures-a simplification over standard experimental methods involving quadrupoles or optical trapping. 2D and 3D simulations of the electric field distributions validated the experimental behavior of several of our DEP tweezers geometries and provided insight into potentia

SUBMITTER: Cheng P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3383857 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature