WFU Physics Colloquium

TITLE: Probing Biological Dynamics of Single Cells Using Laser Tweezers and Raman Spectroscopy

SPEAKER: Professor Yong-Qing Li,

TIME: Thursday Apr. 10, 2008 at 4:00 PM

PLACE: Room 101 in Olin Physical Laboratory

How to analyze biomolecules of individual cells suspended in a liquid medium and how to monitor their dynamic biological processes non-invasively? We have used a combination technique of laser tweezers, Raman spectroscopy, and microfluidic devices to analyze single cells without adding chemical labels and to observe cellular heterogeneity among a population. Optical trap allows individual cells to be captured and immobilized by a near-infrared laser beam and then analyzed by Raman spectroscopy from which biochemical components of the trapped cell can be revealed in real-time. We will demonstrate the applications of LTRS for monitoring dynamic processes of nutrient-triggered germination and killing of bacterial spores, rapid identification of microorganisms, Raman sorting of living cells and chromosomes, and detection of recombinant proteins produced in single transgenic cells.