Testing of micro-fluidic systems for Raman spectroscopic measurements on biological cells

Sammanfattning: Pulmonary Artery Hypertension (PAH) is a condition that can affect people as a consequence of infections or diseases such as lung disease, high blood pressure or pneumonia. When afflicted by these diseases, low oxygen content in the lung tissue causes the pulmonary arterial soft muscle cells (PASMC) located in the walls of the pulmonary arteries to chronically swell up. As a result, the arteries are constantly narrowed. This can in many cases be fatal as the arteries become clogged and the heart is forced to pump more blood to the lungs, causing an enlargement of the right heart chamber which eventually may lead to heart failure. This irreversible swelling of the PASMC is the cause for PAH. To find a treatment for this incurable disease, the mechanisms of the vasoconstriction need to be investigated.  Spectroscopy is the study of the interactions between light and matter and is a tool that can be used to gain knowledge in the matter of the expansions of the PASMC. In particular, Raman spectroscopy that targets the inelastic interactions can be used since it registers dynamic changes of cells.  To simulate an oxygen deprived environment, a micro-fluidic system designed for use in cellular experiments has been developed. Tests of the prototypes showed strong Raman signals from the polymeric material of the system itself. These signals overshadowed the signals from the observed sample. The objective of the experiments presented in this report was to test whether the signals from the micro-fluidic system could be eliminated by adding spacing between the polymer and the sample.  The experiment was conducted by collecting data of samples from baker's yeast prepared in the micro-fluidic system at different z-distances. By this the optimal spacing between the polymer of the micro-fluidic system and the sample could be determined. This experiment concluded that the sample needed to be placed 1.54 mm further from the micro-fluidic system in order to test human lung tissue at 2 mW laser intensity.