C.S. Lim

Bio: C.S. Lim is an academic researcher from Nanyang Technological University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Grating & Interferometry. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 9 publications receiving 338 citations.

Refractive index measurement of single living cells using on-chip Fabry-Pérot cavity

Abstract: This letter reports the measurement of single living cells’ refractive index (RI) using an on-chip fiber-based Fabry-Perot cavity by a differential method. In experiment a single cell is captured into the cavity, then the spectral shift in response to the buffer change and the cell presence/absence can be used to determine the cell’s RI and size. Experiment on kidney cancer cells measures an effective RI of 1.399 at 0.1% accuracy. Compared with other approaches, the differential method eliminates uncertain factors and thus ensures high accuracy. The microchip facilitates automatic detection and makes it promising for label-free drug screening.

Differential single living cell refractometry using grating resonant cavity with optical trap

Abstract: This letter reports the measurement of single living cell’s refractive index (RI) using the optical grating resonant cavity with buffer modulation on a biochip. The cell’s RI is a significant cell biophysical property which has potential in cancer and disease diagnoses. The single cell is trapped optically within the cavity, and the transmission spectra shift due to the change of surrounding buffer, without/with cell, are used to determine the cell’s effective RI and effective thickness. The measurement shows that Madin-Darby canine kidney cell has an effective RI of 1.383±0.001. Moreover, the optical trapping technique eliminates uncertainty and avoids cell damage.

A reconfigurable optofluidic Michelson interferometer using tunable droplet grating.

Abstract: This paper presents a novel optofluidic Michelson interferometer based on droplet microfluidics used to create a droplet grating. The droplet grating is formed by a stream of plugs in the microchannel with constant refractive index variation. It has a real-time tunability in the grating period through varying the flow rates of the liquids and index variation via different combinations of liquids. The optofluidic Michelson interferometer is highly sensitive and is suitable for the measurement of biomedical and biochemical buffer solutions. The experimental results show that it has a sensitivity of 66.7 nm per refractive index unit (RIU) and a detection range of 0.086 RIU.

An on-chip liquid tunable grating using multiphase droplet microfluidics

Abstract: This letter reports the realization of liquid tunable long-period grating (LPG) using multiphase droplet microfluidics that is integrated onto a microfluidic chip. A stream of plugs is formed by two immiscible liquids and acted as LPG. It provides the tunability in the grating period by tuning the flow rates of the liquids, the refractive index and the index variation of the core layer by using different combinations of liquids. The experimental results show attenuation strength of 0.14 and attenuation bandwidth of 7.6nm. The chip is promising as a sensor for biochemical applications and a tunable filter for optical measurement.

Single Living Cell Refractometry using FBG-Based Resonant Cavity

Abstract: This paper reports a single cell refractometer consists of FBG fiber-based resonant cavity by employing buffer modulation method. In this biophotonic chip, single cell is trapped optically in the cavity, and the transmission spectral shifts due to the change of surrounding buffer, without and with cell, are used to determine the cell's refractive index (Rl) and size. The measurement shows that MDCK cell has an effective Rl of 1.383 at a precision of 0.1%. Moreover, the measurement method with optical trapping eliminates uncertain factors and prevents cell damage. The chip is promising for label-free cell measurement and further cell analysis.

Optofluidic microsystems for chemical and biological analysis

Abstract: Optofluidics - the synergistic integration of photonics and microfluidics - has recently emerged as a new analytical field that provides a number of unique characteristics for enhanced sensing performance and simplification of microsystems. In this review, we describe various optofluidic architectures developed in the past five years, emphasize the mechanisms by which optofluidics enhances bio/chemical analysis capabilities, including sensing and the precise control of biological micro/nanoparticles, and envision new research directions to which optofluidics leads.

Cell refractive index for cell biology and disease diagnosis: past, present and future

Abstract: Cell refractive index is a key biophysical parameter, which has been extensively studied. It is correlated with other cell biophysical properties including mechanical, electrical and optical properties, and not only represents the intracellular mass and concentration of a cell, but also provides important insight for various biological models. Measurement techniques developed earlier only measure the effective refractive index of a cell or a cell suspension, providing only limited information on cell refractive index and hence hindering its in-depth analysis and correlation. Recently, the emergence of microfluidic, photonic and imaging technologies has enabled the manipulation of a single cell and the 3D refractive index of a single cell down to sub-micron resolution, providing powerful tools to study cells based on refractive index. In this review, we provide an overview of cell refractive index models and measurement techniques including microfluidic chip-based techniques for the last 50 years, present the applications and significance of cell refractive index in cell biology, hematology, and pathology, and discuss future research trends in the field, including 3D imaging methods, integration with microfluidics and potential applications in new and breakthrough research areas.

Nanometer-precision linear sorting with synchronized optofluidic dual barriers

Abstract: The past two decades have witnessed the revolutionary development of optical trapping of nanoparticles, most of which deal with trapping stiffness larger than 10-8 N/m. In this conventional regime, however, it remains a formidable challenge to sort out sub-50-nm nanoparticles with single-nanometer precision, isolating us from a rich flatland with advanced applications of micromanipulation. With an insightfully established roadmap of damping, the synchronization between optical force and flow drag force can be coordinated to attempt the loosely overdamped realm (stiffness, 10-10 to 10-8 N/m), which has been challenging. This paper intuitively demonstrates the remarkable functionality to sort out single gold nanoparticles with radii ranging from 30 to 50 nm, as well as 100- and 150-nm polystyrene nanoparticles, with single nanometer precision. The quasi-Bessel optical profile and the loosely overdamped potential wells in the microchannel enable those aforementioned nanoparticles to be separated, positioned, and microscopically oscillated. This work reveals an unprecedentedly meaningful damping scenario that enriches our fundamental understanding of particle kinetics in intriguing optical systems, and offers new opportunities for tumor targeting, intracellular imaging, and sorting small particles such as viruses and DNA.

Detection of contaminants in water supply: A review on state-of-the-art monitoring technologies and their applications.

Abstract: Water monitoring technologies are widely used for contaminants detection in wide variety of water ecology applications such as water treatment plant and water distribution system. A tremendous amount of research has been conducted over the past decades to develop robust and efficient techniques of contaminants detection with minimum operating cost and energy. Recent developments in spectroscopic techniques and biosensor approach have improved the detection sensitivities, quantitatively and qualitatively. The availability of in-situ measurements and multiple detection analyses has expanded the water monitoring applications in various advanced techniques including successful establishment in hand-held sensing devices which improves portability in real-time basis for the detection of contaminant, such as microorganisms, pesticides, heavy metal ions, inorganic and organic components. This paper intends to review the developments in water quality monitoring technologies for the detection of biological and chemical contaminants in accordance with instrumental limitations. Particularly, this review focuses on the most recently developed techniques for water contaminant detection applications. Several recommendations and prospective views on the developments in water quality assessments will also be included.

Optofluidic integration for microanalysis

Abstract: This review describes recent research in the application of optical techniques to microfluidic systems for chemical and biochemical analysis. The "lab-on-a-chip" presents great benefits in terms of reagent and sample consumption, speed, precision, and automation of analysis, and thus cost and ease of use, resulting in rapidly escalating adoption of microfluidic approaches. The use of light for detection of particles and chemical species within these systems is widespread because of the sensitivity and specificity which can be achieved, and optical trapping, manipulation and sorting of particles show significant benefits in terms of discrimination and reconfigurability. Nonetheless, the full integration of optical functions within microfluidic chips is in its infancy, and this review aims to highlight approaches, which may contribute to further miniaturisation and integration.