Development of automated imaging and spectroscopic cell sorting platforms for research into cancer and metabolic diseases

从群体中识别和分离稀有靶细胞对于诊断和基础研究至关重要。虽然荧光分选技术是常用的，有一个巨大的应用多样性，其中荧光标记是不适用或不可取的（例如，当分选细胞的治疗）。本项目将开发一个多功能的微流控系统，结合拉曼光谱分选活细胞的基础上，其内在的生物分子和光学图像配置文件。它将建立在我们开创性的拉曼激活细胞分选（RACS）微流体平台的基础上，并在机器学习和光微流体方面取得新的进展。该技术将使用表征细胞表型、代谢活动和功能的单细胞拉曼光谱。这项工作的成果将为“深度挖掘”未开发的生物系统开辟新的途径，并促进对疾病状态下表现的细胞代谢的研究。根据学生的兴趣，该项目的重点可能是研究不同阶段的癌细胞，以发现潜在的代谢生物标志物，用于早期癌症诊断和筛选潜在的治疗方法。该项目是高度跨学科的，涉及工程师，细胞生物学家和物理科学家之间的合作。学生将获得从微流体到成像方法和分析技术的广泛技能，所有这些都是在研究与不同疾病相关的细胞生物学的背景下。

Identifying and isolating rare target cells from a population is essential for diagnostics and fundamental research. Although fluorescence-based sorting techniques are commonly used, there are a vast diversity of applications, where fluorescence labelling is either not applicable or not desirable (e.g. when sorting cells for therapeutics).This project will develop a versatile microfluidic system that integrates with Raman spectroscopy for sorting living cells based on their intrinsic biomolecular and optical image profiles. It will build upon on our pioneering Raman-activated cell sorting (RACS) microfluidic platforms, with new developments in machine learning and opto-microfluidics. The technology will use single cell Raman spectra that are characteristic of the phenotype, metabolic activity and function of a cell.The outcome of this work will open a new avenue for 'deep mining' of untapped biological systems and facilitate the study of cellular metabolisms that are manifested in disease states. Within the project, depending on the student's interests, the focus could be on the study of cancer cells at different stages to discover potential metabolic biomarkers for early cancer diagnosis and screening for potential treatments.The project is highly interdisciplinary involving collaborations between engineers, cell biologists, and physical scientists. The student will gain a broad range of skills ranging from microfluidics, to imaging methods and analytical techniques, all in the context of studying the cell biology associated with different diseases.