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Contamination with arsenic is a recurring problem in both industrialized and developing countries. Drinking water supplies for large populations can have concentrations much higher than the permissible levels (for most European countries and the United States, 10 μg As per L; elsewhere, 50 μg As per L). Arsenic analysis requires high-end instruments, which are largely unavailable in developing countries. Bioassays based on genetically engineered bacteria have been proposed as suitable alternatives but such tests would profit from better standardization and direct incorporation into sensing devices. The goal of this work was to develop and test microfluidic devices in which bacterial bioreporters could be embedded, exposed and reporter signals detected, as a further step towards a complete miniaturized bacterial biosensor. The signal element in the biosensor is a nonpathogenic laboratory strain of Escherichia coli, which produces a variant of the green fluorescent protein after contact to arsenite and arsenate. E. colibioreporter cells were encapsulated in agarose beads and incorporated into a microfluidic device where they were captured in 500 × 500 μm2cages and exposed to aqueous samples containing arsenic. Cell-beads frozen at −20 °C in the microfluidic chip retained inducibility for up to a month and arsenic samples with 10 or 50 μg L−1could be reproducibly discriminated from the blank. In the 0–50 μg L−1range and with an exposure time of 200 minutes, the rate of signal increase was linearly proportional to the arsenic concentration. The time needed to reliably and reproducibly detect a concentration of 50 μg L−1was 75–120 minutes, and 120–180 minutes for a concentration of 10 μg L−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel perfusion-based microfluidic platform for label-free drug toxicity screening which can single out non-lethal morphological changes from cellular death using electrical impedance spectroscopy. Minor cellular changes such as cell–cell contacts and major cell injury were identified viaimpedance phase angle analysis and follow-up of impedance magnitude at different frequencies. Having exposed HepG2/C3A cells to acetaminophen (AP), we showed that continuous drug perfusion caused a time and concentration-dependent impedance decrease. Moreover, perfusion of repeated doses revealed altered dielectric properties of the cell culture after recovery from AP exposure. This study highlights the possibility to sense cellular changes long before cellular death takes place, pointing out the remarkable sensitivity advantage of this technique over standard endpoint viability tests and its interest for toxicology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell cycle synchronization is an important tool for the study of the cell division stages and signalling. It provides homogeneous cell cultures that are of importance to develop and improve processes such as protein synthesis and drug screening. The main approach today is the use of metabolic agents that block the cell cycle at a particular phase and accumulate cells at this phase, disturbing the cell physiology. We provide here a non-invasive and label-free continuous cell sorting technique to analyze and synchronize yeast cell division. By balancing opposing dielectrophoretic forces at multiple frequencies, we maximize sensitivity to the characteristic shape and internal structure changes occurring during the yeast cell cycle, allowing us to synchronize the culture in late anaphase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this review we present a unified approach for single cell dielectric spectroscopy. Impedance spectroscopy and dielectrophoretic cell sorting, current microtechnologies applied in electrical analysis of single cells are discussed based on their closely related physical principles. In addition, examples of microfluidic devices will be presented: a microfabricated flow cytometer for single cell discrimination based on impedance analysis and a miniaturized continuous dielectrophoretic cell sorter, both using the concept of liquid electrodes. Using the experimental results obtained from both microdevices, we give a comparative overview over the dielectrophoretic sorting and impedance spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a device capable of electrical cell lysis and evaluation of lysis efficiency in continuous flow using dielectrophoretic cell sorting. We use a combination of AC electrical fields and so-called liquid electrodes to avoid bubble creation at the electrode surface. The electrical field distribution is calculated in different electrode configurations by numerical simulations. Cell sorting shows high lysis efficiency, 99% of yeast cells sorted after lysis featuring dielectric properties similar to dead cells. A study of the potential device throughput is performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here a microfluidic device for the chemical modification of particles. In order to alleviate diffusive mixing issues beads are pushed from a starting buffer to a reagent over a wide channel by an array of shifted electrodes. We also show that the effect of reagent diffusion can be compensated by electrophoretic forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a label-free conductometric platform for the rapid measurement of kinetics parameters for the adsorption and desorption of proteins on surfaces. Adsorbed Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) has been detected electrically with response times in the minute range, and kinetic models were elaborated and compared to the measurements. The device presents similar characteristics to Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) immunosensors, but takes advantage of a simpler, low-cost electronic measurement unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a microfluidic device where micro- and nanoparticles can be continuously functionalized in flow. This device relies on an element called “particle exchanger”, which allows for particles to be taken from one medium and exposed to some reagent while minimizing mixing of the two liquids. In the exchanger, two liquids are brought in contact and particles are pushed from one to the other by the application of a dielectrophoretic force. We determined the maximum flow velocity at which all the particles are exchanged for a range of particle sizes. We also present a simple theory that accounts for the behaviour of the device when the particle size is scaled. Diffusion mixing in the exchanger is also evaluated. Finally, we demonstrate particle functionalization within the microfluidic device by coupling a fluorescent tag to avidin-modified 880 nm particles. The concept presented in this paper has been developed for synthesis of modified particles but is also applicable to on-chip bead-based chemistry or cellular biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a particle-sorting device based on the opposition of dielectrophoretic forces. The forces are generated by an array of electrode chambers located in both sidewalls of a main flow channel. Particles with different dielectric response perceive different force magnitudes and are therefore continuously focused to different streamlines in the flow channel. We relate the particles' dielectric response to their output position in the downstream channel. We demonstrate the performance of the device by separating a mixed yeast cell population into pure fractions of viable and nonviable cells. Finally, we use the device to enrich red blood cells infected with Babesia bovis, a major pathogen in cattle and simultaneously confirm the hypothesis that infection with B. bovis causes significant changes in the dielectric response of red blood cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the concept of insulator-based “electrodeless” dielectrophoresis, we present a novel geometry for shaping electric fields to achieve lateral deviation of particles in liquid flows. The field is generated by lateral planar metal electrodes and is guided along access channels to the active area in the main channel. The equipotential surfaces at the apertures of the access channels behave as vertical “liquid” electrodes injecting the current into the main channel. The field between a pair of adjacent liquid electrodes generates the lateral dielectrophoretic force necessary for particle manipulation. We use this force for high-speed deviation of particles. By adding a second pair of liquid electrodes, we focus a particle stream. The position of the focused stream can be swept across the channel by adjusting the ratio of the voltages applied to the two pairs. Based on conformal mapping, we provide an analytical model for estimating the potential at the liquid electrodes and the field distribution in the main channel. We show that the simulated particle trajectories agree with observations. Finally, we show that the model can be used to optimize the device geometry in different applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple pneumatic setup for easy and precise control of pairs of inlet flows for lab on a chip applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]