title: Real-time optical detection of single human and bacterial viruses based on dark-field interferometry.
abstract: The rapid and sensitive detection and characterization of human viruses and bacteriophage is extremely important in a variety of fields, such as medical diagnostics, immunology and vaccine research, and environmental contamination and quality control. We introduce an optical detection scheme for real-time and label-free detection of human viruses and bacteriophage as small as ~24 nm in radius. Combining the advantages of heterodyne interferometry and dark-field microscopy, this label-free method enables us to detect and characterize various biological nanoparticles with unsurpassed sensitivity and selectivity. We demonstrate the high sensitivity and precision of the method by analyzing a mixture containing HIV virus and bacteriophage. The method also resolves the distribution of small nano-impurities (~20-30 nm) in clinically relevant virus samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
authors.forename: Anirban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mitra
authors.forename: Filipp
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ignatovich
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Novotny
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000821:virology*; D003199:Computer Systems; D006678:HIV / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007368:Interferometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019562:Viral Load / Q000295:instrumentation*