The present invention comprises devices and methods for performing channel-less
separation of cell particles by dielectrophoresis, DC high voltage-pulsed electronic
lysis of separated cells, separation of desired components from crude mixtures
such as cell lysates, and/or enzymatic reaction of such lysates, all of which can
be conducted on a single bioelectronic chip. A preferred embodiment of the present
invention comprises a cartridge (10) including a microfabricated silicon
chip (12) on a printed circuit board (14) and a flow cell (16)
mounted to the chip (12) to form a flow chamber. The cartridge (10)
also includes output pins (22) for electronically connecting the cartridge
(10) to an electronic controller. The chip (12) % includes a plurality
of circular microelectrodes (24) which are preferably coated with a protective
permeation layer. Specific cells from various cell mixtures were separated, lysed,
and enzymatically digested on the chip.