Lab on dielectric film deposited PCB device for characterization of electrical property of biological cells

Electrical impedance spectroscopy has been introduced as a cost-effective platform in electrical characterization of biological cells. Conventional impedance sensor usually requires sophisticated and expensive fabrication process for patterning metal electrodes, which are in direct contact with carrying electrolyte to perform the impedance measurement. In this letter, we demonstrate a low cost impedance-based microfluidic device built upon a thin film deposited printed circuit board (PCB) with pre-deposited metal electrodes. Sensing electrodes are isolated from the carrying electrolyte by a thin dielectric film-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film to protect them from erosion and electrochemical reactions. A type of circulating tumor cell, HeLa cell, was used to demonstrate the capability of the Lab-on-PCB chip in the characterization of electrical property of biological cells.