DC voltage switching-based octuple-electrode microdevice for cell rotation and area-specific membrane capacitance measurement

Single-cell electrorotation plays an important role in the field of single-cell imaging and electric parameter measurement. However, reported cell rotation technology often adopts a quadruple-electrode structure and is excited by an AC signal. The distribution of electric field strength in the enclosed area is not uniform, and the rotation speed of the cells is related to the location in the area, so it is difficult to achieve uniformity of electric field distribution and the stationarity of rotation. This work proposes a DC voltage switching-based octuple-electrode microdevice for cell rotation and area-specific membrane capacitance measurements. This design can switch the DC voltages on each electrode periodically to produce a uniformly distributed rotating electric field. The rotation direction of the electric field can be realized by simply controlling the switching order of the analog switches. According to the theoretical single-cell model, the area-specific membrane capacitance of cells are determined through rotation movements. Simultaneously, based on simulation results, the rotation area is normalized to enhance the accuracy of the measuring electrical parameters. This study demonstrates the potential application of the proposed octuple-electrode DC voltage-based electro-rotation device for rapid, convenient, and cost-effective manipulation and electrical parameter measurement of single cells.