In-Depth Theoretical and Experimental Review on Dielectrophoretic Manipulation of Biological Cells

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a powerful and well-established technique that allows label-free, non-invasive manipulation, and characterization of biological cells by leveraging their electrical properties. DEP has become a promising technique to separate, isolate and identify biotargets suspended within a medium based on their dielectric properties, fact which might be essential in development of future biomedical applications. The herein review is aiming to provide an in-depth collection of experimental studies on utilization of DEP in handling various biological cells. Thus, starting from the classical setup of DEP, several literature-proposed technological configurations for cells sorting have been discussed. The literature is presenting a plethora of studies with respect to electrical evaluation of cells, and this review is reporting a collection of information regarding the functioning principles of different types of dielectrophoresis set-ups and electrical investigation. The interpretation of electrical characteristics against frequency is discussed with respect to interfacial/Maxwell−Wagner polarization. Nonetheless, technological challenges and future scientific directions to be approached for ensuring medium-term large-scale uptake of DEP in clinical studies are discussed while clearly differentiating the influence of electrodes’ geometry and architecture, medium conductivity, DEP parameters against cells electrophysiology.