Lab on a Chip for Live-Cell Manipulation

Precisely manipulating and sorting live cells on a lab on a chip is still a major challenge. This article shows how to use dielectrophoresis for cell sorting. The authors also describe a prototype CMOS chip with a sensor-actuator array, row-column addressing logic and readout circuitry. In this article, we examine the new microelectronic technology that gives scientists the ability to monitor, sort, and analyze vast populations of cells and interact with each cell individually. A microelectronic platform called a lab on a chip (LoC) allows precise manipulation of cells with no effect on their phenotypes. The motivation for developing this technology is that investigations in recent years have shown that a few cells changing their behavior unexpectedly can induce deadly diseases such as cancer. Current LoC design and manufacturing techniques are spawning new biotechnology methods with potential for research, diagnosis, and therapy.