Screening of single Escherichia coli in a microchannel system by electric field and laser tweezers

This paper proposes a novel methodology for high throughput screening of microbes. We have developed a prototype of a microchannel system for high throughput screening of Escherichia coli. Experimental demonstration of non-contact transportation and manipulation of E. coli by dielectrophoretic force and radiation pressure of laser tweezers was carried out with a Laser manipulator system. The basic strategies for improving the working efficiency and the operability of the micromanipulation are discussed, and a new direction in this field is presented. Experiments show that transportation and separation of E. coli with an electric field and optical radiation pressure is useful for future practical application to the high throughput screening of microbes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.