Medizinische Universität Graz Austria/Österreich - Forschungsportal - Medical University of Graz
Gewählte Publikation:
Hill, C.
Optofluidic force induction (OF2i): Platform technology for particle characterization and active manipulation in microfluidic environments.
[ Dissertation ] University of Graz; 2018.
FullText
- Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz:
- Hill Christian Josef
- Betreuer*innen:
- Prassl Ruth
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Nanoparticles, especially in material science, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical fields possess significant potential. However, undefined and heterogenic particle populations demand for analytic tools and advanced manipulation equipment for a focused and controlled application. This work’s emphasis is on the development of a new measuring instrument technology for the characterization of nanoparticles and biological cells for pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics. The principle is based on the combination of microfluidic drag forces counteracting well-defined optical forces. This minimal light forces are sufficient to put small particles into motion through photon momentum transfer. With the usage of modulated beam modes thousands of particles can be set in motion simultaneously. These particles are filmed and through evaluation of their motion behavior and movement patterns, statistically relevant particle parameters such as size and size distributions, concentration, weight and basic shape information can be derived simultaneously and in real time. Further, it can be used for the determination of viscoelastic properties of biological cells via their mechanical deformability. The feasibility has been tested on an prototype in various experiments, investigating diffusion differences in S-layer biopolymer coated particles, detecting and separating aggregates of ovalbumin complexed vaccine proticles or by determining the relative micro elasticity of breast cancer cells from the MCF-7 cell line as a biomarker. The measured force induced motions and mechanical effects on particles have been converted in particle intrinsic properties via a developed opto-fluidic force model, which provides the theoretical background for the new particle characterization platform. The core of the technology was filed as European patent application and is attached in the appendix.