Single cell detection capability of an optofluidic spectroscopic biosensor

Biological cells inside an optofluidic cavity modify the optical cavity modes, providing a probe for optical properties of the cells that can be used to detect and differentiate single cells. Transmission spectra of single biological cells including yeast cells and human blood cells as well as polystyrene spheres in a microfluidic Fabry-Perot cavity fabricated on glass substrates are measured and exhibit cell-type specific features attributed to higher order transverse modes. A method for spectral correlation is also presented to verify the preliminary results of the single cell spectra. The correlation calculation demonstrates that the method is able to differentiate some types of single cells