A SINGLE LIVING BACTERIUM'S REFRACTIVE INDEX MEASUREMENT BY USING OPTOFLUIDIC IMMERSION REFRACTOMETRY

This paper presents a biophysical method to characterize single bacterium in water by using an on-chip immersion refractometer. The working principle is based on immersion refractometry, whereby the refractive index of a single bacterium is measured using the difference between the various refractive indices. The preliminary results show that E. coli is larger in term of width and has a lower refractive index value as compared to bacillus subtilis. The database for protozoa will be expanded by measuring different kinds of bacteria using the on-chip immersion refractometer.