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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Flow cytometry is a highly efficient method to measure the physical and chemical properties of biological cells when they are forced to pass, in single file, through an interrogation point in a fluid stream. Modern flow cytometry can perform rapid screening of thousands of cells per second with single-cell resolution, and generate a snapshot of statistical information based on multiple phenotypical or biochemical criteria. However conventional flow cytometry depends heavily on optical detection using fluorescent staining and antigen-antibody based bio-markers, for which the sample pre-processing is both time consuming and labor intensive. Moreover, some staining reagents are cytotoxic and may destroy cell viability, making the processing rather lossy. Therefore, despite outstanding performance for regular blood cell assay, the current flow cytometry lacks sensitivity and efficiency for routine detection of extremely rare cells such as circulating tumor cells. Since biological particles usually exist in natural fluidic environment, microfluidics-based lab-on-a-chip devices provide excellent platforms for various biomedical manipulations and assays. I will talk about some recent advances in developing a new generation of on-chip flow cytometry system. Specifically, dielectrophoresis for particle separation, resistive pulse sensing for particle detection, and a proposed project for an acoustic imaging flow cytometry for cellular and sub-cellular analysis will be highlighted. This new generation of on-chip flow cytometer is highly advantageous over the conventional flow cytometry. The analysis can be performed directly from sample deposited on disposable micro-chips, making this approach rapid and inexpensive. It will open up a new direction that has significant potential for further biomedical R&D in human genomics and pathogen detection for fighting cancer or infectious diseases. We aim to provide a more capable medical diagnosis option that can revolutionize cancer screening and improve healthcare in resource-poor areas of the world.
Host: Brian Munsky (CNLS/CCS3)