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A portable microfluidic flow cytometer based on simultaneous detection of impedance and fluorescence
Segyeong Joo1, Kee Hyun Kim, Hee Chan Kim
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Biosensors & Bioelectronics
|December 17, 2009
Summary
A portable microfluidic flow cytometer combines impedance and fluorescence detection for rapid cell and particle analysis. This miniaturized, battery-powered device offers high performance for diverse biological applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Flow cytometry is crucial for cell analysis but often relies on bulky laboratory equipment.
- Miniaturization and portability are key for expanding the accessibility and application range of flow cytometry.
- Integrating multiple detection modalities in a single portable device enhances analytical capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a compact, portable microfluidic flow cytometer with dual impedance and fluorescence detection capabilities.
- To enable simultaneous measurement of cell size and fluorescence for advanced particle-based assays.
- To create a high-performance, battery-powered system for on-site cell and particle analysis.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a microfluidic chip integrated with polyelectrolyte gel electrodes (PGEs).
- Utilized a light-emitting diode (LED) for fluorescence excitation and a solid-state photomultiplier (SSPM) for detection.
- Developed custom circuits for signal detection, amplification, and conversion of impedance and fluorescence data.
- Sampled signals at 1 kHz with 12-bit resolution for high-fidelity data acquisition.
Main Results:
- Successfully developed a portable microfluidic flow cytometer (15x10x10 cm³, ~800 g) with dual detection modes.
- Demonstrated simultaneous impedance and fluorescence signal acquisition for microparticles and HEK-293 cells.
- Achieved rapid and accurate classification of microparticles and cells based on combined impedance and fluorescence data.
- Validated the system's high performance and portability for cell analysis and particle-based assays.
Conclusions:
- The developed portable microfluidic flow cytometer offers a powerful, integrated solution for cell and particle analysis.
- The dual impedance and fluorescence detection enables efficient characterization and classification of biological samples.
- This miniaturized system significantly enhances the potential for point-of-care diagnostics and field-based biological assays.
