| ABSTRACT |
The ability to discriminate, characterise and purify biological cells from heterogeneous population of cells is fundamental to numerous prognosis and diagnosis applications; often forming the basis for current and emerging clinical protocols especially in stem cell therapy. Current sorting approaches exploit differences in cell density, specific immunologic targets, or receptor-ligand interactions to isolate particular cells. Identification of novel properties by which different cell types may be discerned and of new ways for their selective manipulation are clearly fundamental components for improving sorting methodologies. A hybrid micro-optofluidic system (MOFS) developed by our team are potentially capable of discriminating cells according to their refractive index (which is highly dependable on the organelles inside the cell), size (indicator to cell stage) and shape (in certain cases as an indicator to cell type). The hybrid system, which already discriminate particles efficiently, is modified to adapt into biological environment, especially for stem cell applications.
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