Volume 128, Issue 35 pp. 10395-10399
Zuschrift

Label-Free Analysis of Single Viruses with a Resolution Comparable to That of Electron Microscopy and the Throughput of Flow Cytometry

Ling Ma

Ling Ma

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Dr. Shaobin Zhu

Dr. Shaobin Zhu

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Ye Tian

Ye Tian

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

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Wenqiang Zhang

Wenqiang Zhang

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

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Shuo Wang

Shuo Wang

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

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Chaoxiang Chen

Chaoxiang Chen

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

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Dr. Lina Wu

Dr. Lina Wu

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

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Prof. Dr. Xiaomei Yan

Corresponding Author

Prof. Dr. Xiaomei Yan

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Material, The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory for Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 P.R. China

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First published: 26 July 2016
Citations: 9

Abstract

Viruses are by far the most abundant biological entities on our planet, yet existing characterization methods are limited by either their speed or lack of resolution. By applying a laboratory-built high-sensitivity flow cytometer (HSFCM) to precisely quantify the extremely weak elastically scattered light from single viral particles, we herein report the label-free analysis of viruses with a resolution comparable to that of electron microscopy and the throughput of flow cytometry. The detection of single viruses with diameters down to 27 nm is described. T7 and lambda bacteriophages, which differ in size by as little as 4 nm, could be baseline-resolved. Moreover, subtle structural differences of the same viral particles can be discriminated. Using monodisperse silica nanoparticles as the size reference standards, the virus sizes measured by the HSFCM are in agreement with the equivalent particle diameters derived from their structural dimensions. The HSFCM opens a new avenue for virus characterization.

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