Dielectrophoresis in Lossy Dielectric Media

DIELECTROPHORESIS is the unidirectional motion of neutral, polarizable material which results from the presence of a non-uniform d.c. or a.c. electric field. It is one of a variety of aligning, rotating and translating effects produced by the action of electrical fields on particles suspended in a fluid1. Dielectrophoresis has been discussed and tested for a variety of uses2–4, but only recently has it been applied to biological investigations5. Because of the universality and potential for research in the life sciences of the dielectrophoretic effect, it is desirable to have a quantitative theory for the dielectrophoretic force in lossy dielectric media.