Real-time deformability cytometer

• Subject Area: Polymer Research
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 546133650

A real-time deformability cytometer for the high-throughput characterization of microscopic objects in polymer research - in particular microgels, but also vesicles and surfactant-stabilized microdroplets - is to be acquired. The device consists of four integrated modules: the actual real-time deformability cytometer (RT-DC), an inverted fluorescence microscope ("F") for multi-channel fluorescence measurements, a sorting unit for separating object-laden fluid streams ("so") and a temperature-controlled measuring chamber for characterizing temperature-sensitive or -responsive materials. A key innovative feature of the soRT-FDC is the utilization of hydrodynamic forces in microchannels to capture not only optical properties - as in conventional flow cytometry - but also mechanical object properties. Originally developed as a cell analyzer, a dedicated application of the requested device is planned in polymer materials science. Here, the real-time analysis of a large number of optical (brightness, fluorescent dye distribution), morphological (object area/height/length ratio, surface roughness, inertia ratio) and mechanical properties (deformation or elastic modulus) of 100 to 1,000 objects per second will represent a significant advancement of the previously used (confocal) fluorescence microscopy- and atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based characterization of individual objects. The ability to generate large data sets from these diverse material parameters will form an important basis for the ongoing digital transformation of polymer research, for example to train artificial intelligence and to avoid over-adjustment of material models due to insufficient data sets. The device configuration is unique in German and international polymer research and will complement the (bio)mechanical methods used at OVGU Magdeburg to date, such as AFM, flow cytometry and micropipette aspiration for analyzing soft microscopic objects, and promote building bridges between materials and life sciences across faculties. With regard to the application focus on the characterization of microgels, the soRT-FDC in its planned configuration will - for the first time - provide in situ insight into the origins of optical-mechanical heterogeneity of microgels during their production, allow for studying coupling effects of structural, mechanical and optical phenomena in polymer gels, and efficiently design the downstream structural elucidation by means of synchrotron or neutron scattering thanks to parameter-specific (pre-)sorting.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Echtzeitdeformationszytometer
• Instrumentation Group: 3500 Zellzähl- und Klassiergeräte (außer Blutanalyse), Koloniezähler
• Applicant Institution: Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Julian Thiele