Colorado School of Mines departments collaborate on research

The Colorado School of Mines' research paper looked at cells reactions to laser light.
The Colorado School of Mines' research paper looked at cells reactions to laser light. | File photo

“High-Throughput Linear Optical Stretcher for Mechanical Characterization of Blood Cells” -- a featured study on the front page of the journal Cytometry Part A -- is the latest result of the long-running partnership between the Colorado School of Mines’ Physics and Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) departments.

The April 2016 issue of the journal of the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry contained the paper, which was written by Kevin Roth, a CBE graduate student; CBE associate professor Keith Neeves; CBE department head David Marr; and Physics department head Jeff Squier.

 In the study conducted by the Mines’ Physics and Chemical and Biological Engineering departments, the cells were malformed by the refraction of laser light that had been tightly focused as the cells pass through a microfluidic channel. When the cells flowed out of the trap, they relaxed and was compared to its stretched state to determine deformation.

Squier focuses his research mainly on optics and lasers and helped design the optical system that was used during the study. Marr’s partnership with Squier began a number of years ago, leading to the establishment of the MOABC research center.