A method and apparatus are provided for constructing tissue from cells or other objects by application of temporally and spatially controlled electric fields. Electric field applicators expose a substrate (32) to the electric field controlled to affect the processing medium (28) to achieve a processing effect on the construction of tissue on the substrate (32). Electrical bias is selected to interact with dipole properties of the medium (28) to control the movement of suspended dielectrophoretic cells or other particles in the medium (28) or at the substrate (32). The motion of suspended particles may be affected to cause suspended particles of different properties to follow different paths in the processing medium (28), which may be used to cause the suspended particles to be sorted. The processing medium (28) and electrical bias may be selected to affect the structure, or orientation, of one or more layers on the substrate (32).