Broadband microchamber for electrical detection of live and dead biological cells

A novel broadband microchamber for electrical detection of live and dead biological cells was designed, fabricated and tested. The microchamber was formed between a gold coplanar waveguide fabricated on a quartz slide and the microfluidic channels fabricated in a polydimethylsiloxane cover. The coplanar waveguide allowed broadband impedance matching and efficient cell trapping. The microfluidic channels delivered single cells precisely. Tests on Jurkat cells in both time and frequency domains showed that live cells had lower resistance but higher capacitance than that of dead cells.