A programmable AC electrokinetic analysis system

This paper presents the development and experimental verification of the lexel (electric field element) array, a programmable two-dimensional array of discrete, independent microelectrodes that constructs arbitrary electric field shapes to manipulate microscopic particles and cells. The lexel array forms the base structure of a future low-power bio-analysis platform currently under development. The analysis techniques employed by the lexel array exploit AC electrokinetic methods that have been demonstrated in noninvasive biological cell identification, interrogation and species separation applications. Experimental results obtained on model microscopic particles verify the ability of the lexel array to implement interdigitated dielectrophoretic (DEP), quadrupole levitation, and traveling wave dielectrophoretic (TWD) field configurations.