Novel Adjustable 3D Electrokinetic Microelectrode for Blood-Formed Elements Separation

Many medical applications now require manipulating biological cells in order to separate and trap them for further operations. The invention of a method for simultaneously separating and trapping living cells has several advantages, including lower costs, smaller sample sizes, and a lower risk of sample infection. Researchers may investigate cell population activity more appropriately and avoid erroneous conclusions by separating blood cells from a complete blood sample. A distinct array of three-dimensional (3D) cubic microelectrodes is modified to allow or block a certain kind of biological cell according to the applied voltage. Unlike the previous work, the proposed design is developed to trap cells after separation using triple arrays of dielectrophoretic-based microelectrode which is vital for many applications such as cell culture. The designed microfluidic is simulated using the finite element approach by COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5. The results supported the developed square microelectrode’ ability to simultaneously, rapidly, and efficiently separate and trap two types of blood cells: red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets.