Quasistatic force and torque on ellipsoidal particles under generalized dielectrophoresis

Abstract

Analytic expressions for the quasistatic force and torque on ellipsoidal particles covered with a shell under the action of generalized dielectrophoresis have been derived using the effective moment method. Here the generalized dielectrophoresis includes traditional dielectrophoresis generated by nonuniform electric field without phase shift, electrorotation, and traveling wave dielectrophoresis. Characteristics of the results of ellipsoids are contrasted with those of spherical particles and illustrated through various examples using erythrocytes as model particles. In particular, we derived the force and torque equations in terms of electric potential, which are useful for simulating various phenomena associated with the characterization and manipulation of particles and cells in microfluidic devices.