Cytometer on a Chip

The objective of the proposed effort is to develop a novel technology that will provide a unique and powerful alternative to conventional flow cytometry. This new system, which we call a cytometer on a chip will spatially sort cells on a microarray chip based on the presence of specific cell surface receptors or other surface features. Detection and quantitation is accomplished with grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance imaging (GCSPR). This is a label-free detection technology that obviates the need for fluorescent or other types of labels. This feature and the fact that the technology is amenable to miniaturization and consumes very little power, makes the cytometer on a chip system ideally suited to the assessment of immune function in space and to cost-effective, rapid, on site clinical diagnostics. In the Phase I we will evaluate the feasibility of the proposed concept with a lymphocyte model system and we will evaluate the system?s capability to separate cell populations and to distinguish between activation state.