Ultra-Wideband Characterization, Electroporation, and Dielectrophoresis of a Live Biological Cell Using the Same Vector Network Analyzer

For the first time, single-cell trapping, characterization, electroporation, and de-trapping were demonstrated by conveniently programming the frequency and power of the same ultra-wideband vector network analyzer (VNA). For example, trapping and de-trapping of a cell were accomplished by applying to a coplanar waveguide (CPW) a CW signal of 3 dBm and 5 MHz and 10 kHz, respectively, corresponding to attractive and repulsive dielectrophoresis. After a cell is trapped on the CPW, the VNA was switched to 9 dBm and 100 kHz for electroporation. Before and after electroporation, the cell was characterized from 9 kHz to 9 GHz by setting the VNA at -18 dBm to assess the effect of electroporation. This breakthrough can improve not only the accuracy, but also the throughput of single-cell wideband electrical characterization.