Event Information |
Northrop Grumman Microsystems Seminar: Gregory Cooksey, NIST, "Microfluidic cytometry" Microfluidic cytometry: high-throughput imaging and flow-based measurements in microfluidics devices Gregory Cooksey Abstract Microfluidic technologies hold great promise for use in many industries. In particular, they are well suited to support the manipulation and measurement of microscale quantities of material (e.g. drugs, nanoparticles and cells) and to conduct large numbers of miniaturized physical, chemical and biological studies simultaneously. NIST is focused on facilitating reproducibility, improving detection limits, and expanding the measurement capabilities of microfluidic control and sensing technologies. Bio and research information Microfluidic technologies hold great promise for use in many industries. In particular, they are well suited to support the manipulation and measurement of microscale quantities of material (e.g. drugs, nanoparticles and cells) and to conduct large numbers of miniaturized physical, chemical and biological studies simultaneously. NIST is focused on facilitating reproducibility, improving detection limits, and expanding the measurement capabilities of microfluidic control and sensing technologies. As part of a broader NIST-on-a-Chip program, which has the goal of deploying small, high-quality measurement systems, the microfluidics team is developing microscale platforms to advance the measurement of physical and chemical properties of fluids on the microscale. These technologies broadly impact the research and development of systems that require flow-based physical measurements (e.g. temperature, pressure, mass transfer), chemical analyses (e.g. spectroscopy, calorimetry, environmental monitoring), and diagnostic and therapeutic applications (e.g. flow cytometry, automated cell assays, medical perfusion systems). Our current work includes developing flow meters that incorporate photonic structures and cytometers that can optically measure particles under flow (see diagram below). The goal is to achieve rapid and accurate detection in a system that can be easily parallelized for high-throughput measurements. One application of particular interest is to develop micro- and optofluidic tools that can aid in the detection of rare or dangerous cell types among background of millions of harmless cells (e.g. detecting circulating tumor cells in blood, establishing safety of therapies developed from stem cells, or identifying pathogenic bacteria in food or blood). Many clinical and regulatory decisions could be improved by having tests with improved speed and reliability. This Event is For: Graduate • Undergraduate • Faculty • Post-Docs • Alumni |