A new stroboscopic technique for the observation of microscale fluorescent objects on a spinning platform in centrifugal microfluidics

Abstract

Fluorescence microscopy has been greatly contributed to the development of new science and technology in the field of microfluidics. In the case of centrifugal microfluidics, a microscale fluidic system is constructed on a spinning disk-shaped substrate; however, while microscopic stroboscopes have been developed, fluorescence imaging has not yet been demonstrated. This paper reports on the development of the first imaging technique that can observe small (micrometer) fluorescent objects on a spinning fluidic system. This technology is based on the combination of a Xe bulb strobe, a coaxial optics microscope, and a fluorescent optical filter. The observation of small particles on a spinning disk was demonstrated at both the bright field setting and the fluorescence setting. The system successfully demonstrates the observation of fluorescence particles on a spinning disk (at 3,000 rpm) and the sedimentation of particles in a suspension flow.