Apparatus for microfluidic flow cytometry analysis of a particulate containing fluid

A microfluidic chip for microfluidic flow analysis of a particulate containing fluid, the microfluidic chip comprising:

• at least two layers;
• a microfluidic channel that is substantially orthogonal to a plane of the layers of the chip comprising a fluid inlet for receipt of a stream of particulate containing fluid;
• and
• a detection zone comprising at least one pair of electrodes in electrical communication with the microfluidic channel,
• wherein the at least one pair of electrodes comprise an excitation electrode coupled to an AC signal source and a detection electrode configured to detect AC impedance changes in the microfluidic channel between the electrodes resulting from particles passing between the electrodes in the microfluidic channel, wherein
• the pairs of electrodes are arranged radially around the microfluidic channel.

A microfluidic chip for microfluidic flow analysis of a particulate containing fluid, the microfluidic chip comprising:

• at least two layers;
• a microfluidic channel that is substantially orthogonal to a plane of the layers of the chip comprising a fluid inlet for receipt of a stream of particulate containing fluid;
• and
• a detection zone comprising at least one pair of electrodes in electrical communication with the microfluidic channel,
• wherein the at least one pair of electrodes comprise an excitation electrode coupled to an AC signal source and a detection electrode configured to detect AC impedance changes in the microfluidic channel between the electrodes resulting from particles passing between the electrodes in the microfluidic channel,
• and the detection zone of the microfluidic chip contains at least two optical waveguides, at least one of these is coupled to a light source and the other one is coupled to an optical detector to detect optical signal resulting from the particulates and such optical signal is measured in conjunction with the electrical signal detected at the detection electrode to improve the CV of the data points from a population of particulates.