Simultaneous isolation and label-free identification of bacteria using contactless dielectrophoresis and Raman spectroscopy

The traditional bacterial identification method of growing colonies on agar plates can take several days to weeks to complete depending on the growth rate of the bacteria. Successfully decreasing this analysis time requires cell isolation followed by identification. One way to decrease analysis time is by combining dielectrophoresis (DEP), a common technique used for cell sorting and isolation, and Raman spectroscopy for cell identification. DEP-Raman devices have been used for bacterial analysis, however, these devices have a number of drawbacks including sample heating, cell-to-electrode proximity that limits throughput and separation efficiency, electrode fouling, or inability to address sample debris. Presented here is a contactless DEP-Raman device to simultaneously isolate and identify particles from a mixed sample while avoiding common drawbacks associated with other DEP designs. Using the device, a mixed sample of bacteria and 3m polystyrene spheres were isolated from each other and a Raman spectrum of the trapped bacteria was acquired, indicating the potential for cDEP-Raman devices to decrease the analysis time of bacteria.