Manipulation of bacteria using three dimensional insulator based dielectrophoresis

Insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is a very promising technique for sorting microparticles based on their electrical properties. By using constrictions in a microchannel to generate large electric field gradients, the need for microfabricated electrode arrays is eliminated. In this work, three-dimensional insulator-based dielectrophoresis (3DiDEP) devices are fabricated using a novel micromachining technique. These devices are predicted and observed to exhibit higher trapping sensitivity than existing devices in the literature; this allows for efficient trapping of microparticles and bacteria at low applied fields with minimal thermal shock on the particles due to Joule heating effects. The dielectric properties of a range of bacteria, as well as polystyrene beads are examined. The impact of these results on the development of microbial fuel cells and portable low-cost clinical diagnostic tools is also discussed.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Braff, William Allan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cullen R. Buie.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67793

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/67793