A micro fluorescent activated cell sorter for astrobiology applications

Donald W. Platt, Richard B. Hoover, Richard B. Hoover, Gilbert V. Levin, Alexei Y. Rozanov, Kurt D. Retherford
2009 Instruments and Methods for Astrobiology and Planetary Missions XII  
A micro-scale Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorter (µ&ACS) for astrobiology applications is under development. This device is designed to have a footprint of 7 cm x 7 cm x 4 cm and allow live-dead counts and sorting of cells that have fluorescent characteristics from staining. The µFACS system takes advantage of microfludics to create a cell sorter that can fit in the palm of the hand. A micron-scale channel allows cells to pass by a blue diode which causes emission of marker-expressed cells which
more » ... are detected by a filtered photodetector. A small microcontroller then counts cells and operates high speed valves to select which chamber the cell is collected in (a collection chamber or a waste chamber). Cells with the expressed characteristic will be collected in the collection chamber. This system has been built and is currently being tested. We are also designing a system with integrated 1\/EMS-based pumps and valves for a small and compact unit to fly on small satellite-based biology experiments.
doi:10.1117/12.831336 fatcat:eb4xmz7hzjg3vazcqgysgsgjt4