Handling and investigation of adherently growing cells and viruses of medical relevance in three-dimensional micro-structures

The investigation of animal cells in microstructures fabricated by semiconductor technology is a new field of research and has found its first biotechnological and medical uses. This paper contains selected examples of three-dimensional structures to handle and characterise adherently growing cells, to determine their adhesion, surface migration and to cultivate them under strong electric field. Two new principles, (i) the use of electronic resonances to increase polarisation forces and (ii) the computer-based investigation of cell rotation/cell dielectrophoresis by photoelement signal analysis, are explained. Additionally, some results dealing with the trapping and concentration of submicron particles such as viruses in extremely miniaturised electric field cages are given. Perspectives for such semiconductor micro-devices are outlined.