Radial Dielectrophoretic Trap for Individual Nanostructures

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a method of trapping micro- and nano-sized particles using non-uniform electric fields. DEP has been used to position DNA origami ^[1], and is being investigated for trapping DNA self-assembled nanostructures. Radial Dielectrophoretic Trap (RDT) structures have been fabricated and evaluated for this purpose. DEP has been performed successfully, trapping multiple latex beads as small as 2 µm in 5 µm windows. The RDT structure is a viable tool for DEP and provides a means towards integrating DNA self-assembled nanostructures with microscale electrical structures. The RDT will be refined toward trapping individual nanostructures.

_{[1] A. Kuzyk, B. Yurke, J. J. Toppari, V. Linko, and P. Torma, "Dielectrophoretic Trapping of DNA Origami," Small 4, 447 (2008)}