Source:
ELECTROPHORESIS, Volume 27, Number 20, p.3939-3948 (2006)
Abstract:
This paper reports experimental results on the dielectrophoretic (DEP)
behaviour on two nonenveloped plant viruses of different geometrical
shapes, namely Cow Pea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) and Tobacco Mosaic Virus
(TMV). The DEP properties of carboxy-modified latex beads of the same
size are also reported. The DEP properties of single particles were
obtained from measurement of the frequency at which the DEP force on a
particle goes to zero (the crossover frequency). The DEP behaviour of
particle ensembles was also measured using image processing. The
dielectric properties of the particles were evaluated from the DEP
data. The surface conductance was found to be 0.3 nS for CPMV, 0.38 nS
for TMV, and 0.52 nS for 27 nm diameter carboxy-latex beads. Data
analysis has shown that the optimal condition for separation of TMV and
CPMV is a low-conductivity suspending medium - below 1 mS/m.
