Abstract
In this research, we report the development and experimental results of a single cell electroporation lab chip via the integration of dielectrophoresis manipulation and AC electrokinetic pump. Both dielectrophoresis force and AC electrokinetics pump are incorporated in this micro-chip for the target of single cell electroporation. By applying individual input AC voltage with different frequency on different micro electrodes, cells could be manipulated in our device based on their electric property. An additional micro-structure filter design is adopted in this chip to function as a single cell micro-channel for the purpose of centralizing the cells in a line. DNA or other nano-injectors could be pumped to the electroporation region and be inserted into the target cell via the castellated electrodes with several short electrical pulses. The theory, chip design and simulation are reported in this thesis. The experiments including positive and negative DEP force for live cells manipulation, AC electrokinetic pump in DEP buffer, single-cell sorting mechanism, single cell electroporation and the integration of system chip functions have be demonstrated successfully. This research has demonstrated the pioneer of single-cell DEP manipulation and the integration of AC electrokinetic pump for system bio-chip research like electroporation, which could be applied to the applications of drug screening and cancer study.