| The study of dielectric properties of micrometer scale or nanometer scale particles is of particular interest in present-day applications of biomedical engineering. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) based characterization and measurement techniques open up a broader perspective for early diagnosis of disease. With the contribution of the development of microchip fabrication technology, DEP based measurement and manipulation can be integrated onto a single microchip.; This thesis describes the applications of dielectrophoresis effects, employing planar microelectrode arrays fabricated on a silicon substrate in the synthesis of various nonuniform electric fields, for manipulating, measuring and characterizing biological cells. The establishment of an integrated system that enables simultaneous manipulation and measurements on a single microchip has been experimentally investigated. Application of the measurement system was carried out on a dielectric properties study of human leukemia cells. The goal of this work is to extract clinically relevant diagnostic information about leukemia from blood smears in order to implement a simple and precise approach for early leukemia detection. |
