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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Fluorescence detection methods for microfluidic droplet platforms

Fluorescence detection methods for microfluidic droplet platforms

Published on: December 10, 2011

Rapid Detection of Microbial Contamination Using a Microfluidic Device.

Mustafa Al-Adhami¹, Dagmawi Tilahun¹, Govind Rao¹

¹University of Maryland Baltimore County, 5200 Westland Blvd, Baltimore, MD, 21227, USA.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|March 11, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A new portable fluorometer detects viable cells by measuring fluorescence changes in resazurin dye. This device offers a fast, accurate, and inexpensive optical method for field detection of microbial contamination.

Keywords:

Contamination detection device E. coli detection Microfluidic device Resazurin Resorufin Thermal bonding of PMMA

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Last Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Fluorescence detection methods for microfluidic droplet platforms

Fluorescence detection methods for microfluidic droplet platforms

Published on: December 10, 2011

Author Spotlight: Advancing Rapid Detection of Respiratory Pathogens Using Microfluidic Chip

Author Spotlight: Advancing Rapid Detection of Respiratory Pathogens Using Microfluidic Chip

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Microfluidic Tools for Probing Fungal-Microbial Interactions at the Cellular Level

Microfluidic Tools for Probing Fungal-Microbial Interactions at the Cellular Level

Published on: June 23, 2022

Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Analytical Chemistry
Microbiology

Background:

Detecting viable microbial contamination in samples is crucial for quality control.
Existing methods for bacterial detection can be time-consuming or require complex laboratory equipment.
There is a need for rapid, portable, and cost-effective detection systems.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a portable kinetics fluorometer for the optical detection of viable cells.
To utilize the resazurin-resorufin indicator system for sensitive fluorescence-based detection.
To integrate a microfluidic chip for enhanced reaction kinetics and sample handling.

Main Methods:

A portable single-excitation, single-emission photometer was designed.
The device measures continuous fluorescence intensity changes of resazurin dye.
A custom microfluidic chip was developed to act as an enclosed cuvette, optimizing the resazurin reduction rate.

Main Results:

The device successfully detected the presence of E. coli in LB media.
The fluorescence intensity changes, measured by a photodiode and amplified by an op-amp, correlated with viable cell counts.
The slope of the fluorescence plot was indicative of the colony forming units per milliliter.

Conclusions:

The developed portable fluorometer provides a fast, accurate, and inexpensive method for optical detection of viable cells.
This device offers a field-deployable alternative to complex methods like DNA amplification or intrinsic fluorescence measurements.
The system demonstrates potential for applications in pharmaceutical testing and environmental monitoring.