Three-dimensional cell manipulation and patterning using dielectrophoresis via a multi-layer scaffold structure

Abstract

Cell manipulation is imperative to the areas of cellular biology and tissue engineering, providing them a useful tool for patterning cells into cellular patterns for different analyses and applications. This paper presents a novel approach to perform three-dimensional (3D) cell manipulation and patterning with a multi-layer engineered scaffold. This scaffold structure employed dielectrophoresis as the non-contact mechanism to manipulate cells in the 3D domain. Through establishing electric fields via this multi-layer structure, the cells in the medium became polarized and were attracted towards the interior part of the structure, forming 3D cellular patterns. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the manipulation and the patterning processes with the proposed structure. Results show that with the presence of a voltage input, this multi-layer structure was capable of manipulating different types of biological cells examined through dielectrophoresis, enabling automatic cell patterning in the time-scale of minutes. The effects of the voltage input on the resultant cellular pattern were examined and discussed. Viability test was performed after the patterning operation and the results confirmed that majority of the cells remained viable. After 7 days of culture, 3D cellular patterns were observed through SEM. The results suggest that this scaffold and its automated dielectrophoresis-based patterning mechanism can be used to construct artificial tissues for various tissue engineering applications.

[Retracted] Dielectrophoresis‐Based Method for Measuring the Multiangle Mechanical Properties of Biological Cells

“…Appropriate amounts of red blood cells were added to the DEP buffer, which contained 8.5% w/w sucrose, 0.3% w/w glucose, and 20 mg/L CaCl 2 . The electrical conductivity and relative permittivity were 10 mS/m and 78, respectively [18,19]. Prior to the experiment, the microchannels were rinsed with deionized water and absolute ethanol and treated with 1% BSA to prevent cell adhesion.…”

Microfluidic neurite guidance to study structure-function relationships in topologically-complex population-based neural networks

“…In thick scaffolds, higher field strengths are possible without injuring the growth cones because the neurites are not in direct contact with the electrodes. Although application of AC fields to pattern cells in scaffolds has been demonstrated previously 21 , here we demonstrate for the first time that AC fields can extend throughout the collagen scaffold to control the orientation of neurites directly within the scaffold itself. Because of the spatially localized nature of the AC field gradient effect on the growth cone growth, the limit in the z-direction in the depth of the scaffold deflection is ~10 μm from the planar electrodes.…”

Dielectrophoretic Microfluidic Chip Integrated With Liquid Metal Electrode for Red Blood Cell Stretching Manipulation

“…The liquid metal, which included 67% Ga, 20.5% In, and 12.5% Sn, was used in the experiment as an electrode and stored in NaOH solution to prevent oxidation. Red blood cells were added into the DEP buffer, which contained 8.5% w/w sucrose, 0.3% w/w dextrose, and 20 mg/L CaCl 2 and had electrical conductivity and relative permittivity of approximately 10 mS/m and 78, respectively [42], [43]. This configuration allowed the application of the DEP force on red blood cells without burning the electrodes.…”