This paper presents an original biosensor chip allowing determination of intrinsic relative permittivity of biological cells at microwave frequencies. This sensor permits non-invasive cell identification and discrimination using an RF signal to probe intracellular medium of biological samples. Indeed, these sensors use an RF planar resonator that allows detection capabilities on less than 10 cells, thanks to the microscopic size of its sensitive area. Especially, measurements between 15 and 35 GHz show the ability label-free biosensors to differentiate two human cell types using their own electromagnetic characteristics. The real part of permittivity of cells changes from 20 to 48 for the nervous system cell types studied. The proposed biodetection method is detailed and we show how the accuracy and the repeatability of measurements have been improved to reach reproducible measurements.
