A 2D-Planar Dielectrophoretic Model with Electro-Thermally Induced Fluid Motion and the Stability of Trapping Zones

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an electrokinetics-based phenomenon that involves the motion of a particle due to the interaction between an applied nonuniform electric field and an induced dipole moment. This technique is very effective in particle manipulation and separation. Earlier studies on control-amenable models to describe the motion of a neutrally buoyant, neutrally charged particle in a chamber with a parallel electrode array have restricted the motion of the particle to one dimension. Here, incorporating the electro-thermal fluid motion as well, we present a 2D-planar DEP model and study the effect of electro-thermal fluid motion on particle trapping.