College of Arts & Sciences

Thomas Reese

College of Arts & Sciences Physics

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Frank A. Ferrone Physics

A New Method of Blood Spectrophotometry

We have augmented a Leitz Inverted Microscope (with x20 objective) that permits efficient capture of Hb spectra from a whole blood sample. A 150 watt xenon arc lamp is used to funnel light through a 1500µm, 0.39 NA multimode fiber, above a 100 µL capillary and above the objective, to analyze the light absorbance in the sample in an Ocean Optics USB4000 Spectrometer. We added an exterior slit and collecting lens, ensuring that we only captured the center of the capillary, and observe wavelengths from 400-700 nm. Then, we addressed the problem of light scattering of blood cells through similar experiments of concentrated Hb.

We performed a series of titrations with carbon monoxide to see its effect on absorption and are working on a mathematical model to correct the effect of stray light distortion on the absorption spectra, as deduced by observing the intense flattening of the soret band. This spectrometer will be a critical addition to a capillary-based viscosity measurement system recently developed by determining the degree of oxygenation. This capillary device will be useful for diagnosing sickle cell disease in resource challenged areas.