基于光流控平台的单细胞操控技术及应用研究

Single cell analysis is an important breakthrough in life science research in this century, providing a reliable scientific basis for early diagnosis and treatment of major diseases, drug screening and personalized medical research. One of the great challenges of single-cell analysis is how to construct a precise, simple, and versatile cell manipulation platform that screens out the target cells from a small volume of sample and performs multiple manipulations on individual cells. Based on optofluidic technology, this project aims to carry out research on versatile single cell manipulation such as trapping, sorting, patterning and stretching. This project investigates the beam shaping by using the micro-optical components to construct special light fields in the microchannel. Optofluidic potential wells will be realized by combining the fluidic force and optical force, which improves cell capture efficiency and sorting resolution. Multiple potential wells are used to pattern and stretch the cells, facilitating in the study of the mechanical properties of single cells. Meanwhile, the method to continuously tune the light fields is investigated to overcome the limitation in lack of functions on the chips with fixed structure. Finally, the project will realize the theoretical and technological innovations of the optofluidic platform in single cell manipulation, multi-parameter measurement and analysis. Its simplicity and low-cost will promote the wide application of single cell technology in life science research and clinical medicine.

单细胞分析是本世纪生命科学研究的重要突破口，为重大疾病的早期诊断和治疗、药物筛选和个体化医疗等研究提供可靠的科学依据。单细胞分析面临的一个巨大挑战就是如何构建精准、简易、多功能的细胞操控平台，从微量样品中筛选出需要检测的目标细胞，并对单个细胞进行多种操控。本项目以光流控技术为基础，旨在芯片上完成对单细胞的捕获、分选、排布、拉伸等多功能操作的深入研究。重点探索利用微型光学元件在微流道内构建新型光场，结合流体力和光力构建光流控势阱，提高细胞捕获效率和分选分辨率，并利用多势阱结构对单细胞进行拉伸、排布，进而对单细胞力学特性进行测量，同时，进一步研究对光场连续调制的方法，以切实解决光流控芯片上固定结构功能单一的问题。本项目最终将实现光流控平台在单细胞操控及力学特性测量等方面的理论和技术创新，以简单易行、经济实用为前提，推进单细胞技术在生命科学研究和临床医学领域的广泛应用。

单细胞分析技术广泛应用在疾病早期诊断、疾病发生机制研究、药物作用机理研究及为个体化医疗提供数据支持等方面。单细胞分析面临的一个巨大挑战就是如何构建精准、简易、多功能的细胞操控平台，从微量样品中筛选出需要检测的目标细胞，并对单个细胞进行多种操控。本项目以光流控技术为基础，对单细胞的捕获、分选、排布等多功能操作进行深入研究。在项目执行期间，重点探索利用微型光学元件在微流道内构建新型光场，产生光流控多势阱，研究对多个目标的捕获和操控；提出实现光场快速调制方法，精确控制捕获颗粒的位置；提出将光力与对撞流结合，在同一光流控芯片内实现多种颗粒分选、单颗粒捕获、精确位移等多种操控功能；设计多种纳米结构用于光场调制，以及对颗粒进行分选、移动等操控的方法。本项目的研究成果应用前景广阔，对促进临床医学的发展和细胞学研究具有重要作用。