title: Numerical and experimental characterization of solid-state micropore-based cytometer for detection and enumeration of biological cells.
abstract: Portable diagnostic devices have emerged as important tools in various biomedical applications since they can provide an effective solution for low-cost and rapid clinical diagnosis. In this paper, we present a micropore-based resistive cytometer for the detection and enumeration of biological cells. The proposed device was fabricated on a silicon wafer by a standard microelectromechanical system processing technology, which enables a mass production of the proposed chip. The working principle of this cytometer is based upon a bias potential modulated pulse, originating from the biological particle's physical blockage of the micropore. Polystyrene particles of different sizes (7, 10, and 16 μm) were used to test and calibrate the proposed device. A finite element simulation was developed to predict the bias potential modulated pulse (peak amplitude vs. pulse bandwidth), which can provide critical insight into the design of this microfluidic flow cytometer. Furthermore, HeLa cells (a type of tumor cell lines) spiked in a suspension of blood cells, including red blood cells and white blood cells, were used to assess the performance for detecting and counting tumor cells. The proposed microfluidic flow cytometer is able to provide a promising platform to address the current unmet need for point-of-care clinical diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, P. R. China; Pillar of Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jinhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.forename: Yuanbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Chang Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yuejun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001773:Blood Cells; D004867:Equipment Design; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016062:Porosity
keywords: Cell analysis; Flow cytometer; Microelectromechanical system; Microfluidics; Portable diagnosis