Sensing of diseased mitochondria proportion by DEP at the organelle level of intact cells

To monitor the healthiness of cells, it is very important to develop quick ways to characterize cells with the diseased and normal mitochondria. Thus, we can take measures to prevent potential development of mitochondria-related diseases. Physical study and systemic proof of concept by engineering method to perform quick diagnosis of the normal and diseased mitochondria have not been well achieved yet. In this study, we used insulator dielectrophoresis (i-DEP), by utilizing the intrinsic dielectric response of a cell to an external AC electric field to differentiate cells containing partially diseased and normal mitochondria to test if we can select diseased mitochondria-containing cells but not the normal cells. We found that it is possible to detect the diseased and healthy mitochondria in cells without breaking the cell membrane. Taking advantage of the dielectrophoresis, DEP principle, we may develop a quick diagnostic method to detect diseased mitochondria in living cells.