Systems Cytometry

Modern optical techniques such as flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy provide detailed structural and functional information on living cells. The systems cytometry group at Swansea links these technologies to detailed computer simulations of proliferating cell populations. The twinning of in-vitro and in-silico cell populations promises quantitative analysis of cell biology taking into account the innate variability of living systems and delivering statistical descriptors of single cell state and wider relationships within extended cell lineages.

Nanoparticle metrology and toxicology

Our aim is to develop an optical metrology of nanoparticle uptake by mammalian cells, the subsequent evolution of particulate dose via cell proliferation and the consequent relationship with genetic fidelity and cell viability. The metrics will provide absolute quantification of dose in terms of number of particles per cell and map the marked heterogeneity of this dose across a population caused by asymmetric cell division. The bio-processing of nanoparticles will be assessed by structural imaging pre and post cell uptake and this information, together with the dose measurements, will be correlated to an analysis of cellular function and genomic stability to provide a quantitative assessment of nanoparticle toxicity. The realisation of a metrology able to assess the active role played by cellular systems in controlling the level and potency of nanotoxin dose is crucial to the development of safety protocols and risk assessments of nanoparticles in relation to human health.

Nanoparticle fluorophores

Fluorescently active, colloidal nanocrystals (Quantum Dots) have been remarkably successful in extending the armoury of bio-medical research techniques and in delivering novel bio-assays reporting on gene expression, protein interaction and whole cell function. I am involved in the use of such nanoparticles in microscopy and flow cytometry and in the development of further optical nanotechnologies based on metal oxide nanoparticles. Non centro-symmetric nature of crystals such as ZnO lead to pronounced non-linear optical properties which in turn make them of interest in multi-photon imaging and non-resonant fluorescence spectroscopy.