Lab-in-a-fiber device for automated selective cell picking (Conference Presentation)

We have developed an optical fiber-based module that can automatically scan, select, retrieve, and transfer single cells, and cell clusters. Cell picking and isolation have several applications such as separating circulating tumor cells, isolating single fetal cells for prenatal testing, and others. Our Lab-in-a-Fiber (LiF) module can automatically scan the given sample and detect fluorescent cancer cells (MCF-7) from a mixture of labeled and unlabelled cells and pick them up for further analysis. A unique feature of our work is using non-image-based cell selection criteria which makes our fiber device useful for in-vivo applications. The fiber device has a small footprint which makes it ideal for reaching difficult parts of the body (e.g. Pancreas) for biopsy or targeted chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy.