Electrical Manipulation and Sorting of Cells

Electric fields have been widely used to manipulate cells in microfluidic devices. The versatility and the ease of implementation and fabrication of electric field-based microfluidic systems have made them very popular for a whole host of different biomedical applications. In this chapter, various techniques that are commonly used for manipulating, characterizing, and separating cells in lab-on-a-chip devices and their applications are discussed. Starting from a description of the polarization of a cell and the forces that can act on it in an electric field, the theory that drives different electrokinetic phenomena and the application of these phenomena for on-chip cellular manipulation are herein reviewed. The models that are used to predict the responses of cells in electric fields, as well as techniques commonly used for the numerical modeling of various electrokinetic and electric field-based cellular manipulation techniques, are also detailed. Finally, the electrical modifications of cells in microfluidic devices, specifically electroporation and electrofusion, have been reviewed.