Method and apparatus for dielectric spectroscopy of biological solutions

摘要

A coplanar waveguide for use in dielectric spectroscopy of biological solution is described. The waveguide's inner conductor can have a small gap and a sample containing space is laid over the gap. The sample containing space holds a small volume, ranging from a few picoliters to a few microliters of a biological solution. The waveguide is then driven with electrical signals across an extremely wide frequency range from 40 Hz to 40 GHz. The waveguide is coupled to a network or impedance analyzer by means of appropriate connectors and the response of the biological solution to the input signals is recorded. One-port and two-port measurements can be made without any modifications. The simple geometry of the waveguide makes it easy to integrate with microfluidic systems.