Trapping and manipulation of nanoparticles by using jointly Dielectrophoresis and AC electroosmosis

In this paper the concept of micro-and nano-particle trapping, by jointly utilizing Dielectrophoresis (DEP) and AC Electroosmosis (ACEO), is investigated in a system of parallel electrode arrays. The ACEO fluid velocity is studied by solving a numerical model based on the Debye-Huckel theory. Furthermore, trapping is studied in a configurable asymmetric electrode array system. A method to trap and manipulate particles is presented that uses an asymmetric configurable electrode system and joint ACEO and DEP in order to move and trap particles at desired locations for further processing. The method is analyzed using a modified Smoluchowski equation that describes the time evolution of the concentration of particles, while limiting the maximum possible concentration to physically realistic limits.