Biofluidic Random Laser Cytometer for Biophysical Phenotyping of Cell Suspensions

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Optofluidics
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Label-free phenotypic profiling of single cells in liquid biopsies is crucial for precision medicine.
• Random lasers offer promising label-free biophysical characterization but were previously limited to solid tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a random laser cytometer in an optofluidic device for analyzing human cells.
• To develop a sensing strategy for determining cell biophysical properties and detecting malignant alterations.

Main Methods:

• An optofluidic device was filled with gain medium and human breast normal/cancerous cells.
• Light scattering from microscale cells induced random lasing, influencing laser modes, spectral wavelengths, and thresholds.
• A sensing strategy analyzed these lasing properties for cell characterization.

Main Results:

• The random laser cytometer successfully detected malignant alterations in cell suspensions.
• Cellular light scattering influenced random lasing properties, enabling biophysical property determination.
• Both whole cell and subcellular biophysical properties were assessed.

Conclusions:

• A novel label-free biophysical cytometer based on optofluidic random lasers was developed.
• This approach offers a new method for analyzing cell biophysical properties in liquid biopsies.
• The technology is advantageous for advancing random laser bioapplications and precision medicine.