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Dielectrophoretic Traps for Single-Particle Patterning

Adam Rosenthal ^*  and Joel Voldman ^*

^* Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Joel Voldman, Tel.: 617-253-2094; Fax: 617-258-5846; E-mail: voldman{at}mit.edu.

We present a novel microfabricated dielectrophoretic trap designed to pattern large arrays of single cells. Because flowing away untrapped cells is often the rate-limiting step during cell patterning, we designed the trap to be strong enough to hold particles against practical flow rates. We experimentally validated the trap strength by measuring the maximum flow rate that polystyrene beads could withstand while remaining trapped. These bead experiments have shown excellent agreement with our model predictions, without the use of fitting parameters. The model was able to provide us with a fundamental understanding of how the traps work, and additionally allowed us to establish a set of design rules for optimizing the traps for a wide range of cell sizes. We provide the foundations for an enabling technology that can be used to pattern cells in unique ways, allowing us to do novel cell biology experiments at the microscale.