title: FACS-style detection for real-time cell viscoelastic cytometry.
abstract: Cell mechanical properties have been established as a label-free biophysical marker of cell viability and health; however, real-time methods with significant throughput for accurately and non-destructively measuring these properties remain widely unavailable. Without appropriate labels for use with fluorescence activated cell sorters (FACS), easily implemented real-time technology for tracking cell-level mechanical properties remains a current need. Employing modulated optical forces and enabled by a low-dimensional FACS-style detection method introduced here, we present a viscoelasticity cytometer (VC) capable of real-time and continuous measurements. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by tracking the high-frequency cell physical properties of populations of chemically-modified cells at rates of ~ 1 s-1and explain observations within the context of a simple theoretical model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kasukurti
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Eggleton
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines.
authors.forename: D W M
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Marr