Disposable flow cytometer with high efficiency in particle counting and sizing using an optofluidic lens

Area of Science:

• Optofluidics
• Microfluidics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Flow cytometers are essential for environmental, industrial, and biochemical analyses.
• Microfluidic integration enables portable and miniaturized flow cytometry systems.
• Current solid-based lenses in microfluidic flow cytometers suffer from light scattering due to surface roughness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel flow cytometer design utilizing an optofluidic lens.
• To overcome the limitations of light scattering associated with solid-based lenses in microfluidic systems.
• To enhance the accuracy and efficiency of particle analysis in miniaturized flow cytometers.

Main Methods:

• Integration of a liquid-liquid optofluidic lens into a microfluidic chip.
• Utilizing refractive-index matching liquid as cladding streams to minimize interface scattering.
• Focusing a light beam using the smooth interface of the optofluidic lens.

Main Results:

• Achieved well-focused light beams without significant scattering.
• Reduced variations in signal peak values due to a smaller beam width at the beam waist.
• Demonstrated efficient and accurate performance in particle counting and sizing.

Conclusions:

• The optofluidic lens effectively minimizes light scattering in microfluidic flow cytometers.
• This approach leads to improved accuracy and reduced signal variability for particle analysis.
• The developed system offers a promising solution for portable and high-performance flow cytometry applications.