Microflow cytometer

A multi-analyte diagnostic system based on a novel microflow cytometer is under development as a portable, fielddeployable sensor for environmental monitoring and for rapid point-of-care and on-site diagnosis of exposure to biothreat agents. The technology relies on a unique method for ensheathing a sample stream in continuous flow past an illuminated interrogation region. This sheathing approach efficiently focuses particles in the interrogation region of the fluidic channel and minimizes clogging by complex samples. Fluorescently coded microspheres provide the capability for highly multiplexed assays. In this report, separation of six microsphere sets was demonstrated with determination of immunoassays on three of the six sets; comparison to the commercial platform was made.