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Micromachines
Special Issues
Electrokinetic Principles in Biological and Biomedical Systems
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Electrokinetic Principles in Biological and Biomedical Systems

A Special Issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X) belonging to the section "C1: Micro/Nanoscale Electrokinetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 2948

Editor

Dr. Gongchen Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
Interests: electrokinetics; microfluidics; 3D printing; ion exchange membrane
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electrokinetic principles play a critical role in biomedical technologies and biological systems, enabling the precise manipulation of biomolecules, cells, and fluids while influencing key biological functions such as cell signaling, differentiation, and tissue development. Phenomena such as ion concentration polarization, electro-osmotic oscillation, and charge separation modulate ion transport, membrane potentials, and cellular microenvironments, impacting nerve signaling, intracellular communication, and tissue morphogenesis. Electrokinetic techniques facilitate the discovery of new biology by enabling high-resolution control of cellular and molecular interactions, uncovering novel bioelectric properties of cells, and advancing single-cell analysis. The application of electrokinetic phenomena—including electroosmosis, electrophoresis, and dielectrophoresis—has also led to significant advancements in biotechnologies including lab-on-a-chip platforms, biosensing, tissue engineering, and drug delivery devices.

In this Special Issue, we invite original research papers and review articles that explore the latest developments in electrokinetic principles and phenomena within biological and biomedical systems. We welcome contributions on fundamental mechanisms, computational modeling, and innovative device designs, with a special focus on how electrokinetic principles regulate biological processes, such as guiding cell migration, influencing stem cell differentiation, and promoting tissue formation, and how electrokinetic forces manipulate cells and biomolecules in biomedical technologies. Studies addressing novel applications in biosensing, regenerative medicine, biofabrication, and electrokinetic-based therapeutics are highly encouraged. This issue aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the integration of electrokinetic principles in biological and biomedical research for fundamental discoveries and future innovations.

Dr. Gongchen Sun
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • electrokinetics
  • micro/nanofluidics
  • electrophoresis
  • dielectrophoresis
  • electroosmosis
  • ion concentration polarization
  • charge separation
  • membrane potential
  • electrotaxis
  • cell signaling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 2998 KB  
Article
Changes in Breast Cancer Cell Electrophysiology in Response to Culture Across a Wide Range of pH: Dielectrophoresis and ζ-Potential
by Mary Krystelle Catacutan, Sungmun Lee and Michael Pycraft Hughes
Micromachines 2026, 17(8), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17080902 - 28 Jul 2026
Viewed by 686
Abstract
To survive, cells are able to adapt to a wide range of adverse conditions, such as varying pH from optimal (~7.4). They do this through mechanisms including acid-sensing ion channels, which alter cytosolic ion content and thus the cell’s electrophysiological profile. However, the [...] Read more.
To survive, cells are able to adapt to a wide range of adverse conditions, such as varying pH from optimal (~7.4). They do this through mechanisms including acid-sensing ion channels, which alter cytosolic ion content and thus the cell’s electrophysiological profile. However, the impact of this adaptation on cellular electrophysiology remains unexplored. We investigated the effects of culture at a range of extracellular pH on the electrophysiological features of breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. Cells were subject to an acid–neutral–base pH from 3.0 to 9.2, after which their membrane potential (Vm), cytoplasm conductivity σcyto, effective membrane conductance Geff, and ζ-potential were measured. Cells were also analyzed after permeabilization, to examine whether observed changes were due to cell surface chemistry, or to Vm. Both cell lines exhibited different electrophysiological phenotypes in acidic environments (pH < 6.7); MDA-MB-231 exhibited statistically significant differences in ζ-potential, Vm, Geff and σcyto; MCF-7 only exhibited significant differences in σcyto. These findings suggest cells adapt to acidic microenvironments by altering Vm and potentially ζ-potential, reducing the extracellular potential, and hence potentially lowering proton concentration at the extracellular membrane surface. This offers new insights into potential therapeutic avenues to target the pH-dependent adaptations of cancer cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrokinetic Principles in Biological and Biomedical Systems)
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Review

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27 pages, 3092 KB  
Review
The Multi-Conductivity Clausius–Mossotti Factor as an Electrophysiology Rosetta Stone: Dielectrophoresis, Membrane Potential and Zeta Potential
by Michael Pycraft Hughes
Micromachines 2025, 16(11), 1200; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16111200 - 23 Oct 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1785
Abstract
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been used for decades to estimate the passive electrical properties of cells. However, the body of work on cell electrophysiology derived from Clausius–Mossotti analysis of DEP-derived data pales to insignificance against the wider backdrop of cell electrophysiology based on the [...] Read more.
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been used for decades to estimate the passive electrical properties of cells. However, the body of work on cell electrophysiology derived from Clausius–Mossotti analysis of DEP-derived data pales to insignificance against the wider backdrop of cell electrophysiology based on the Goldman–Hodgkin–Katz equation measured by patch clamp, which focuses on membrane potential Vm—a parameter which does not appear in the Clausius–Mossotti model—and values of patch clamp-derived membrane conductance which, shorn of double-layer conductivity, are often orders of magnitude lower than those derived from DEP. Conversely, the body of work on DEP analysis is more substantial than that reporting the electrical properties of the extracellular (ζ) potential. To address this, several studies have recently been published into the interconnections between the electrical properties determined by the Clausius–Mossotti model, Vm, and ζ-potential, which analyzed the effect of varying the suspending medium conductivity over a wide range, from below 50 mSm−1 to above 1.5 Sm−1. The results of these studies identified relationships between the cytoplasm conductivity, Vm, membrane conductance and capacitance, surface conductance, whole-cell resistance, and ζ-potential. Significantly, many of these relationships only become apparent when analyzed as a function of the conductivity of the suspending medium. This paper assembles these interconnections, using several separate studies approaching different parameter connections, to draw together a set of equations which collectively form a “cellular electrome”. This demonstrates that analysis of the Clausius–Mossotti factor across multiple conductivities allows determination of not only passive electrical properties, but also the membrane and ζ-potential, and accurately predicts DEP behavior at higher conductivity for the first time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electrokinetic Principles in Biological and Biomedical Systems)
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