Cell rotation reveals important information which facilitates identification and characterization of different cells. Markedly, achieving three dimensional (3D) rolling rotation of single cells within a larger group of cells is rare among existing cell rotation techniques. In this work we present a simple biochip which can be used to trap and rotate a single cell, or to rotate multiple cells relative to each other within a group of individual red blood cells (RBCs), which is crucial for imaging cells in 3D. To achieve single RBC trapping, we employ two parallel sidewall 3D electrodes to produce a dielectrophoretic force which traps cells inside the capturing chambers of the microfluidic device, where the hydrodynamic force then induces precise rotation of the cell inside the chamber. We have also demonstrated the possibility of using the developed biochip to preconcentrate and rotate RBC clusters in 3D. As our proposed cell trapping and rotation device reduces the intricacy of cell rotation, the developed technique may have important implications for high resolution 3D cell imaging in the investigation of complex cell dynamics and interactions in moving media.

细胞旋转揭示了重要的信息，这些信息有助于识别和表征不同的细胞。值得注意的是，在现有的电池旋转技术中，在较大的一组电池中实现单个电池的三维（3D）滚动旋转的情况很少。在这项工作中，我们提出了一个简单的生物芯片，可用于捕获和旋转单个细胞，或在一组单个红细胞（RBC）中相对于彼此旋转多个细胞，这对于3D细胞成像至关重要。为了实现单个RBC捕集，我们采用了两个平行的侧壁3D电极来产生介电泳力，从而将细胞捕集到微流体装置的捕集腔内，然后流体动力促使腔室内的细胞精确旋转。我们还证明了使用开发的生物芯片以3D方式预浓缩和旋转RBC簇的可能性。由于我们提出的细胞捕获和旋转装置降低了细胞旋转的复杂性，因此在研究复杂的细胞动力学和运动介质中的相互作用时，开发的技术可能对高分辨率3D细胞成像具有重要意义。