How to improve the sensitivity of coplanar electrodes and micro channel design in electrical impedance flow cytometry: a study

This paper describes a comprehensive analysis of the geometrical parameters in uencing the sensitivity of a coplanar elec- trode layout for electrical impedance ow cytometry. The designs presented in this work have been simulated, fabricated, and tested. 3D nite element method was applied to simulate and improve the sensitivity of the coplanar designs for two spacings between electrodes. The proposed model uses conditional expressions to de ne spatially dependent material properties. The vertical and lateral sensitivities were evaluated for all the designs. The experimental results obtained with polystyrene beads show good agreement with the simulations. Precentering particles with dielectrophoresis allowed to control their position in the microchannel. The optimized designs are envisioned to be used for sizing and characterizing particles from single cells to cell aggregates.