In its first tech-show presence, our spin-off company Dispertech demonstrates the first commercial prototype that uses our patented nanocapillary tracking technology. Aquiles and Steven were present at the 2nd Autumn Meeting GSEV jointly organised with ASEV with a prototype product, pictured below.

The enhanced sensitivity and resolution of this setup rely on the special nanobore optical fiber embedded in the measurement cartridge. In this opto-fluidic fiber, a sub-micrometer bore is enclosed concentric to the micrometer size high index core of the fiber, which guides light in a tight single optical mode irrespective of the filling inside the bore. The particles are inserted into the hole inside an aqueous solution and scatter the guided light out of the mode while diffusing freely. By index matching the cladding on a flat glass slide, it is possible to obtain an almost isotropic point image on a camera. This efficient spatial filtering allows for detection of very small particles based on their scattering, similar to bright visualization of dust particles that pass a freely propagating laser beam. Furthermore, the small diameter of the bore assures that particles do not diffuse out of the focal plan . These advantages have enabled us to track dielectric particles smaller than 20 nm and their electrophoretic mobility at a frame rate of several kilohertz. See here our 2015 ACS-Nano publication.