UHF-Dielectrophoresis Signatures as a Relevant Discriminant Electromagnetic Biomarker of Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells

Nowadays, cancer stem cell (CSC) characterization with an efficient, fast and low-cost method still remains an issue. Hence, we have developed a microfluidic lab-on-chip RF sensor based on dielectrophoresis (DEP) to characterize individual biological cells by measuring their two crossover frequencies: f
x01
(low frequency regime, below 1 MHz) and f
x02
(Ultra High Frequency regime, above 50MHz). These electromagnetic signatures have been determined and compared between cancer stem cells and tumor differentiated cells from colorectal cancer cell line. We show that representative crossover frequency change appears in the UHF regime making such signatures a relevant biomarker to identify cancer stem cells among a tumor population.