Gold nanorods (GNRs) can be easily designed and synthesized to respond to photons in the near infrared (NIR) band. The photostimulation by laser irradiation can be mediated and enhanced by GNRs to introduce localized damage to cells for photodynamic/photothermal therapy (PDT or PTT). In this study, we show that cells stained with GNRs can be detected and stimulated simultaneously by short flashes of femtosecond-laser irradiation on a microfluidic system effectively. In the relatively high-throughput cell flow, the two-photon luminescence from GNRs can be excited and detected. The GNRs also mediate and enhance the transient photostimulation of the cells. After photostimulation, cells can remain alive, go to apoptosis, or necrosis, respectively. The stimulation effect is strongly dependent on the photon density and stimulation duration. We found the cells remain alive, go to apoptosis or necrosis, dependent on the GNR staining, the laser illumination pattern and duration. Hence, our system provides a simple and effective method for high-throughput cell stimulation and analysis on chip. © 2019 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

中文翻译：

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金纳米棒辅助的微流控芯片上的单细胞检测和光刺激。

可以轻松设计和合成金纳米棒（GNR），以响应近红外（NIR）波段的光子。激光辐射的光刺激可以由GNR介导和增强，从而对细胞进行局部损伤以进行光动力/光热疗法（PDT或PTT）。在这项研究中，我们表明，在微流控系统上，飞秒激光照射的短时闪光可以同时检测和刺激GNRs染色的细胞。在相对高通量的细胞流中，可以激发和检测来自GNR的双光子发光。GNRs还介导并增强细胞的瞬时光刺激。光刺激后，细胞可以分别存活，凋亡或坏死。刺激效果在很大程度上取决于光子密度和刺激持续时间。我们发现细胞仍然存活，进入凋亡或坏死状态，这取决于GNR染色，激光照射方式和持续时间。因此，我们的系统为芯片上的高通量细胞刺激和分析提供了一种简单有效的方法。©2019国际细胞计数学会。