Reduction of voltage requirements for electrical cell lysis using CNT on electrode

High voltage requirement is the major limitation of integrating electrical cell lysis techniques into microchip systems. A considerable reduction of required voltage for irreversible electroporation of Escherichia coli cells has been achieved by depositing carbon nanotube (CNT) on one electrode. A microfluidic channel was made of a 75μ-thick film of kapton polyimide sandwiched between an ITO-coated sheet and a stainless steel electrode. CNT was deposited on the bottom stainless steel electrode. E. coli cells were lysed while passing through the electric field across the microchannel. Molecular probes were used to count live and dead cells, based on the intensity of emission spectrum measured by spectrofluorometer. CNTs in two different concentrations were tested in experiments. The results show that voltage requirements for irreversible lysis of E. coli cells are reduced to half with the presence of CNT on one electrode. And, the higher concentration of CNT demonstrates higher reduction in voltage requirement.