Simulation of Dielectrophoretic Potential for Single Particles Trapping

Studying the behavior of individual proteins has significantly advanced drug design, disease diagnosis, and the development of novel nanotechnologies. Trapping proteins is a common research method, but existing techniques often chemically or physically alter their behavior. A promising new technique utilizing dielectrophoresis (DEP) offers label-free, active, detection-less, local trapping of proteins. While DEP has been widely used for cell manipulation, its application in single protein trapping is a recent development. For this method to be effective, a detailed understanding of the DEP potential within the trap is necessary. This requires a combination of experiments and simulations. Research by S. Pud et al. aims to experimentally determine the DEP potential for a dielectrophoretic trap using polystyrene nanoparticles. This paper presents a framework for modeling this setup in silico by solving the Langevin equation for DEP and Brownian motion. The framework will help determine the theoretical DEP potential and pave the way towards DEP study of single proteins.