Flow cytometer is a powerful single cell analysis tool that allows multi-parametric study of suspended cells. Most commercial flow cytometers available today are bulky, expensive instruments requiring high maintenance costs and specially trained personnel for operation. Hence, there is a need to develop a low cost, portable alternative that will aid in making this powerful research tool more accessible. In this paper we describe a sheath-less, on-chip flow cytometry system based on the principle of Dean coupled inertial microfluidics. The design takes advantage of the Dean drag and inertial lift forces acting on particles flowing through a spiral microchannel to focus them in 3-D at a single position across the microchannel cross-section. Unlike the previously reported micro-flow cytometers, the developed system relies entirely on the microchannel geometry for particle focusing, eliminating the need for complex microchannel designs and additional microfluidic plumbing associated with sheath-based techniques. In this work, a 10-loop spiral microchannel 100 microm wide and 50 microm high was used to focus 6 microm particles in 3-D. The focused particle stream was detected with a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) setup. The microfluidic system was shown to have a high throughput of 2,100 particles/sec. Finally, the viability of the developed technique for cell counting was demonstrated using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. The passive focusing principle and the planar nature of the described design will permit easy integration with existing lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems.

A fluorescence spectroelectrochemical sensor capable of detecting very low concentrations of metal complexes is described. The sensor is based on a novel spectroelectrochemical sensor that incorporates multiple internal reflection spectroscopy at an optically transparent electrode (OTE) coated with a selective film to enhance detection limits by preconcentrating the analyte at the OTE surface. Nafion was used as the selective cation exchange film for detecting Ru(bpy)(3)(2+), the model analyte, which fluoresces at 605 nm when excited with a 441.6-nm HeCd laser. The unoptimized linear dynamic range of the sensor for Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) is between 1 x 10(-)(11) and 1 x 10(-)(7) M with a calculated 2 x 10(-)(13) M detection limit. The sensor employs extremely thin films ( approximately 12 nm) without significantly sacrificing its sensitivity. The sensor response is demonstrated with varying film thicknesses. A state-of-the-art flow cell design allows variable cell volumes as low as approximately 4 microL. Fluorescence of the sample can be controlled by electromodulation between 0.7 and 1.3 V. Sensor operation is not reversible for the chosen model film (Nafion) and sample (Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)) but it can be regenerated with ethanol for multiple uses.

Novel blue emitters were synthesized based on the fullerene fragment corannulene. 1,2- bis(corannulenylethynyl)benzene and 1,4-bis(corannulenylethynyl)benzene were designed, synthesized, and shown to exhibit significant red shifts in their absorption spectra as compared to that of the parent corannulene. Photoluminescence studies show both 1,2- bis(corannulenylethynyl)benzene and 1,4- bis(corannulenylethynyl)benzene gives enhanced blue luminescence compared to the parent corannulene structure. 1,4-bis(corannulenylethynyl)benzene was observed to give intense blue luminescence when excited at 400 nm. DFT and TD-DFT calculations were performed and shown to be consistent with the observed experimental results.

The PF(6)(-) salt of a platinum(II) complex changes from yellow to red and becomes intensely luminescent upon exposure to aqueous ClO(4)(-). The response is remarkably selective. Spectroscopic changes are consistent with anion exchange resulting in shortening of the intramolecular PtPt distances between the square planar cations.

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