A Microflow Cytometer Enabled by Monolithic Integration of a Microreflector with an Acoustic Resonator

Abstract

Current microflow cytometers suffer from complicated fluidic integration and low fluorescence collection efficiency, resulting in reduced portability and sensitivity. Herein, we demonstrated a new flow cell design based on an on-chip monolithically integrated microreflector with a bulk acoustic wave resonator (MBAW). It enables simultaneous 3D particle focusing and fluorescence enhancement without using shear flow. Benefited by the on-chip microreflector, the captured fluorescence intensity was 1.8-fold greater than that of the Si substrate and 8.3-fold greater than that of the SiO₂ substrate, greatly improving the detection sensitivity. Combined with the contactless acoustic streaming-based focusing, particle sensing with a coefficient of variation as low as 6.1% was achieved. We also demonstrated the difference between live and dead cells and performed a cell cycle assay using the as-developed microflow cytometry. This monolithic integrated MBAW provides a new type of opto-acoustofluidic system and has the potential to be a highly integrated, highly sensitive flow cytometer for applications such as in vitro diagnostics and point of care.

Keywords: acoustic streaming; microflow cytometer; microreflector; on-chip; opto-acoustofluidic.