Collaborative Research: NanoCytometry: A Point-of-Care Technology for Monitoring Chronic Leukemia Patients

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CBET-0651799 Sohn The goal of this proposal is to develop a NanoCytometer (a pore plus microfluidic chip and sensor) to sort cells by size, type and membrane identity. The work will continue to construct an array NanoCytometer. The long term research goal is provide a point of care diagnostic system for leukemia and other chronic diseases, rapidly and conveniently. When small blood samples pass through nano-sized pores whose surfaces are coated with certain proteins, cell-surface interactions, the rate of flow and size of cells can lead to counting of cells and their recognition. The electronic signal due to the passage of cells thru the pore, its magnitude and time interval can used as indications of cell count, size and type. Based on this physics of this event, the investigators will first develop nano-porous structure arrays, and demonstrate their hypothesis, and finally integrate it with microfluidics and electronic sensing capabilities. The broader impact of this research includes the collaboration among three female investigators, each an expert in a different field. The investigators describe activities to encourage young women and minorities to engage in engineering, science and mathematics. Leadership of these activities by this team will provide role-model examples for the participants. A summer science camp is described for students to gain experience on research performed on the proposed NanoCytometer. Broader societal impact is embedded in the goal of this research--- a point of care diagnostic device for chronic diseases.