Being able to handle and manipulate large molecules or other nano-objects in a controlled manner is a central ingredient in many bio- and nanotechnological applications. One increasingly popular approach, e.g., in microfluidic setups, is to use dielectrophoresis. Here, the nano-objects are exposed to an alternating electric field, which polarizes them. Depending on the polarization, they can then be grabbed and moved around or trapped by an additional field. However, the mechanisms governing the polarization of the objects, which are typically immersed in a salt solution, are very complicated. Simulations allow to disentangle the different processes that contribute to the polarizability and to assess the influence of key factors such as AC frequency, salt concentration, or salt diffusivity.
Read the complete user research report at the Gauss Centre for Supercomputing.
Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Materials Science & Chemistry
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