Patent ID: 7828950

Claim:
An apparatus for separating a material or screening a material separating condition by dielectrophoresis, the apparatus comprising: a concentration gradient generating unit formed of a microchannel network; a material separation unit which is connected to the concentration gradient generating unit and includes a plurality of electrodes; first and second inlets connected to the concentration gradient generating unit; an outlet connected to the material separation unit; and an element for inducing a fluidic flow between the first and second inlets and the outlet, wherein the concentration gradient generating unit includes: microchannels connected to the first and second inlets, the microchannels including first and second injection microchannels, a distribution microchannel, first and second flow channels, and at least one mixing channel, wherein the first and second injection microchannels respectively connect the first and second inlets to the distribution microchannel, the first injection microchannel is connected to the distribution microchannel between the first flow channel and a mixing channel nearest to the first flow channel, the second injection microchannel is connected to the distribution microchannel between the second flow channel and a mixing channel nearest to the second flow channel, the distribution microchannel is arranged substantially perpendicular to a direction in which a fluid flows, the first and second flow channels are connected to the distribution microchannel, fluids injected through the first and second inlets flow through the first and second flow channels, respectively, not to be mixed together, the mixing channel is connected to the distribution microchannel, and the fluids injected through the first and second inlets are mixed in the mixing channel, and the material separating unit is a chamber including: the first and second flow channels and the mixing channel of the concentration gradient generating unit converged at a single inlet of a single channel; at least two electrodes, an element for supplying alternating current to the electrodes, and a detector, wherein the electrodes generate a spatially nonhomogeneous electric field in the chamber when an alternating current is supplied between the electrodes, thereby separating a target material from a sample solution by dielectrophoresis when the target material passes the electrodes.