The objective of this proposal is to acquire a low cost bench-top flow cytometer to augment the PI?s research activities in the area of microfluidic cell separation. The desired instrument is the Cell Lab Quanta SC system manufactured by Beckman Coulter Inc. This system has the ability to count cells in a heterogeneous suspension based on fluorescent light emission and detection at three distinct wavelengths as well as the ability to measure cell sizes in the range of 3-40 ìm.
The capability to perform accurate, automated measurements of cell size and fluorescence with the Quanta SC system will greatly enhance the PI's transformative research efforts in (i) fingerprinting cell-ligand pairs based on receptor responses to fluid shear stress to identify as-yet undiscovered identify stem or progenitor populations that are resident in certain tissue niches; (ii) designing a microfluidic immunophenotyping system for the detection of uveitis and intraocular lymphoma; (iii) enriching cardiomyocytes systematically as a precursor to effectively designing cardiac tissue patches; and (iv) designing microfluidic cell separation devices to isolate and characterize cardiac progenitor cells.
High school students and teachers participating in summer research at the experimental research via existing Young Scholar and RET programs at Northeastern University will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of flow cytometry with an instrument that is far more accessible and simpler to use than conventional flow cytometery systems. The Quanta SC will also be integrated into a laboratory module on microfluidics in a senior-level undergraduate laboratory course.
