Cytometry method enables mechanical screening of biological cells at unprecedented speed

Feb. 2, 2015

A new cytometry approach for the mechanical characterization of cells, developed by scientists at the Dresden University of Technology, has the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases.

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A new cytometry approach for the mechanical characterization of cells, developed by scientists at the Dresden University of Technology (Dresden, Germany), has the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases.

So far, there has been a lack of an adequate method to mechanically screen large populations of cells in a short amount of time. Their small size poses a significant challenge for detailed mechanical characterization of single biological cells. Current methods available for such characterization are technically involved, difficult in their handling, and limited to small cell numbers and low measurement rates. But the research team, led by Professor Jochen Guck at the University's Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC), has now developed an innovative technology that addresses all these problems: Real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) enables continuous, on-the-fly mechanical screening of hundreds of cells per second, a method they claim is 10,000 times faster than previous methods.

Real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) to determine the mechanical fingerprint of blood: Cells flow at a velocity of 10 cm/s from right to left through the microfluidic channel (width of the image shown: 1.5 mm). The sheath flow from the upper and lower right corners focuses the cells for cell deformability measurements in the narrowest part of the channel. This focusing causes the formation of heart-shaped streamlines as illustrated by an inverted overlay of many single frames. (Image: project ZellMechanik Dresden)

In a study, the scientists demonstrated the mechanical fingerprinting of the different types of cells contained in a drop of blood within a few minutes. Due to the very high throughput of RT-DC, even white blood cells, which are greatly outnumbered by the red blood cells by roughly 1:1000, can be reliably characterized. This is important because white blood cells constitute an important part of the immune system. Any characteristic change in their mechanical fingerprint could someday be used by medical doctors for a faster and better quantitative assessment of the health of patients.

Through the University spinoff company ZellMechanik Dresden, the next step for the researchers is to distribute the RT-DC technology commercially to a wide range of university and industrial researchers. Their ultimate goal is the development and commercialization of a dedicated, stand-alone diagnostic device.

Full details of the work appear in the journal Nature Methods; for more information, please visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3281.

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