Computer-aided analysis of conditions for optimizing practical electrorotation

Previous studies have indicated that the variations in torque induced in pa rticles in electrorotation electrode arrays are sufficiently large to cause errors in electrorotation measurements, in order to avoid this, experiment ers usually study particles bounded by an arbitrary region near the centre of the electrodes. By simulating the time-dependent electric field for poly nomial electrodes, we have assessed the variation in torque across the cent re of the array. By considering both the variation in applied torque and th e dielectrophoretic force in the electrode chamber, the optimal conditions for electrorotation experiments have been determined. Further to this, by c omparing the torque variation across the electrode chamber for a number of common electrode designs, a comparison of the suitability of each electrode design for multiparticle electrorotation analysis has been made.