ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews research and presents a brief outline of the development of dielectrophoresis (DEP) and magnetophoresis (MAP) separation on the basis of an lab-on-a-chip platform. Particle manipulation is achieved by controlling the frequency, voltage, or current applied to microelectrodes or microcoils. The phenomena of DEP that affect micrometer-and nanometer-scale particles are levitation, rotation, and motion, and these attract researchers’ attention because they cause higher separation resolution, low device cost, and rapid separation. Similarly, magnetizable micrometer- and nanometer-scale particles experience a force in a nonuniform magnetic field. Under uniform electric field conditions, charged particles, such as the negatively charged DNA, will move toward the electrode with the opposite charge. Like dielectric particles, which experience a force in a nonuniform electric field, magnetizable particles also encounter a force, MAP, in a nonuniform magnetic field. A parallel track electrode array is capable of separating, transporting, and trapping particles.
