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Dielectrophoresis has been tried to be applied to cell sorting technology in previous studies. In the present study, the movement of mouse myoblast cells flowing through the perpendicular electric field in a micro- channel has been analyzed in vitro. A pair of asymmetric surface electrodes of titanium was manufactured by the photolithography technique: a triangular electrode with the tip angle of 0.35 rad, and a rectangular electrode with the flat edge as the reference. The cyclic alternating electric current of the square wave with the period of 0.3 μs was introduced between the surface electrodes to induce the asymmetric electric field perpendicular to the main flow direction. The suspension of cells (C2C12: mouse myoblast cell line) was injected into the flow channel, and the flow rate was controlled by the pressure head between the inlet and outlet. The velocity of each cell related to the shape and alignment is measured. Experimental results show that the velocity change near the tip of the electrode is lower for a highly elongated cell. The maximum movement perpendicular to the main flow direction occurs when the major axis is perpendicular to the main flow direction.
