D3.2 - Towards a Gigahertz Microfluidic Impedance Cytometer
- Event
- AMA Conferences 2013
2013-05-14 - 2013-05-16
Nürnberg - Band
- Proceedings SENSOR 2013
- Chapter
- D3 - Cell Sensing
- Author(s)
- N. Haandbæk, S. Bürgel, F. Heer, A. Hierlemann - ETH Zürich, Basle (Switzerland)
- Pages
- 516 - 520
- DOI
- 10.5162/sensor2013/D3.2
- ISBN
- 978-3-9813484-3-9
- Price
- free
Abstract
We present a microfluidic impedance cytometer enabling dielectric characterization of single cells at frequencies up to 500 MHz, which represents a more than ten-fold frequency increase compared to other devices. The dielectric properties at lower frequencies reveal information about cell size and membrane capacitance. The increased frequency range of the presented cytometer potentially allows for characterization of subcellular components such as vacuoles or the cell nuclei. We demonstrate the capabilities of the cytometer by discriminating polystyrene beads from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, based on the difference in dielectric properties at frequencies up to 500 MHz. The low frequency data show similar responses of cells and beads, which indicate that they are of comparable size. The high frequency results show a smaller response of the cells, due to the higher conductivity of cytoplasm and nucleus in comparison to the non-conducting beads.