Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Engineering - Department of Mechanical Design and Production

This thesis introduces an emulsion-based label-free cell identi{uFB01}cation technique that utilizes cell dynamics inside an emulsion to recognize its type. First, the single cells are encapsulated in emulsions, generated inside a poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro{uFB02}uidic c hip. When an emulsion is disturbed from equilibrium, an internal rotational {uFB02}ow {uFB01}eld is generated; causing the encapsulated cell to rotate in an elliptical orbit. High speed cameras are used for monitoring cell rotation. Tracking the cell rotation inside of the emulsion could reveal cell type. Experimentally, two di{uFB00}erent cell lines (malignant MCF-7 and non-malignant MCF-10A breast epithelial cell lines) were tested to study their dynamic behavior using the proposed sheath {uFB02}ow microchannel. Computer vision techniques were used to analyze and track cell rotations. Experiments showed that the MCF-7 and MCF-10A behaved di{uFB00}erently inside emulsions larger than 145æm in diameter and at {uFB02}ow rates higher than 0.7 æL/min. The {uFB01}nding of this thesis proves the potential capability of emulsion based techniques in identifying rare cells

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