The detection and analysis of single cells is of the utmost importance because severe illness is often caused by a small number of aggressive cells. One such example is cancer, where disease progression is determined by the presence of a very rare subset of cells with metastatic ability. These metastatic cells will spread from the initial tumor and make the disease much more difficult to treat. Other illnesses are caused by food-borne pathogens, which are most commonly bacteria. In recent years there has been a rising incidence of contamination in food supplies. This has resulted in a critical public health problem because these pathogens are easily transmittable through the food supplies. A solution to these health problems can be found through improved detection and subsequent analysis at the single cell level.

Optical methods hold great promise in the development of improved detection and isolation of single cells. New advances in technology have increased our ability to image in optical modalities at the single cell level. Additionally, we also have the ability to better interact with cells photonically using lasers that permit much finer resolution and control than traditional chemical and mechanical techniques. These recent advances in optical technology can be applied to the analysis of single rare disease cells in order to fight the health problems that they cause. The goal of this research is to use optical techniques to design methods and devices for the detection and isolation of rare cells that cause disease and illness.

This research comprises the development of optical methods for the detection and isolation of rare disease causing cells. Specifically an optical method, photoablative dilution, has been developed for the clonal isolation of rare cells for subsequent single cell assays. Additionally, an optical device has been developed that can detect specific microbial pathogens using optical imaging. Both of these methods will utilize advanced optical technology to detect and isolate a rare subset of cells that cause disease from a bulk sample.