A micro cell lysis device

A new micromachined cell lysis device is developed. It is designed for miniature bio-analysis systems where cell lysing is needed to obtain intracellular materials for further analysis such as DNA identification. It consists of multi-electrode pairs to apply electric fields to cells. Fire adopt the means of using electric field lysing because it can greatly simplify purification steps for preparation of biological samples compared to conventional chemical methods. Yeast, Chinese cabbage, radish cells and Escherichia coli are tested with the device. The lysis of yeast, Chinese cabbage and radish cells is observed by a microscope. The experimental observation suggests that E. coli are also lysed by the pulsed electric field. The range of electric field for the lysis is on the order of I kV/cm to 10 kV/cm. The Teflon coated on the electrodes can protect the electrodes during the pulsing period. In addition, for practical reasons, we reduce the voltage required for lysing to less than 10 V by making the electrode gap on the order of microns. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.