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Virginia Tech

Embedded Passivated-Electrode Insulator-Based Dielectrophoretic Chromatography

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The detection and identification of particles within fluid samples is key in the prevention of the spreading of disease. This has created a growing need for devices able to successfully separate and identify multiple particles for this purpose while operating at a high enough throughput to be applicable in the field. A well investigated method of manipulating particles in this way is Dielectrophoresis (DEP), which is the use of varied electric fields gradients to generate a force on small particles. The strength of DEP depends of the properties of the particle medium, the signal generating the electric field, and the properties of the particles themselves. This method and its interaction with all small particles, including biological particles such as blood and cancer cells, has allowed devices utilizing this idea to be investigated for various biological purposes. This thesis investigates methods to increase the throughput of these types of devices in order to increase their ability to process large amounts of samples in reasonable amounts of time. This is done in primarily two methods. One approach uses the application of chromatographic methods to DEP devices to separate particles by altering their individual transit time through a device, allowing identification during constant flow. Another method is through mass parallel channels which each individually operate as a standard DEP particle trapping device. This allows for the summation of the maximum flow through the device due to its design layout.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2020

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Ervin, Allen Dale
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Agah, Masoud
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Baumann, William T.
  • Jia, Xiaoting

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:26967
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/108241

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Ervin, Allen Dale. Embedded Passivated-Electrode Insulator-Based Dielectrophoretic Chromatography. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/108241