A high-throughput 3-D composite dielectrophoretic separator

Dielectrophoresis has great potential to offer a range of diverse fields from bioprocessing to clinical medicine, but is hampered by low throughput rates to the micrometer scale of the electrodes required to generate highly nonuniform fields. Here we describe a novel approach to electrode construction, using a drilled laminated structure to form channels bearing electrodes 30 /spl mu/m across and 150 /spl mu/m apart. Since these electrodes appear along all sides of the drilled bore, the trapping efficiency is improved over conventional devices. We have developed and demonstrated a separator capable of sorting a 50:50 mixture of viable and nonviable yeast cells into an 86:14 mixture at 25 mLhr/sup -1/.