Investigation of Complex Cellular Identification Strategies using Microfluidic-based SERS
Project Leader(s)
UC Santa Barbara
Research Focus Area
Cartoon illustrating Flow focusing that we propose for cell identification using two SERS Biotags. “Green” SBTs bind to all cells whereas “red” ones bind only to the target cancer (brown) cell. As each cell passes through the laser the ratio of tags is determined. (b) Time lapse composite image of some beads flowing in the device. Each bead is colorized so that its path along the channel can be recognized in the picture. The image is overlaid with the picture of the device under the Raman microscope. The red laser line is visible to the right of the junction. The buffer flowing in the cell/bead inlet channel is colored so that the actual shape of the flow is also visible as a darker area that narrows after the junction where the two sheath flows meet with the cell/beads flow.
The microfluidic device we are developing provides flow focusing, precisely placing cells in the focal plane of the Raman spectrometer, be they algae, cancer cells from blood, or bacteria. Ratiometric analysis of the Raman signal leads to a reliable decision on their identity. Positively identified cells can be channeled to an output stream for collection and post analysis. The proposed platform will aid a growing effort to combine cell-level systems with multiplexed analysis, enabling fundamental studies that both advance optical-microfluidic devices and deliver significant impact for biologists.
Date Completed
