Quantitative microscopy-based measurements of circulating nanoparticle concentration using microliter blood volumes

Quantitative microscopy can be used to measure circulating concentrations of nanoparticles with as little as 2 μL of blood. However, when using such small volumes, the path length within and between samples can vary significantly as the high viscosity of blood can yield differences in thin layer thickness as the blood spreads following application of a coverslip. This yields variability in the measured mean fluorescence intensity. Addition of a reference nanoparticle of a different color can correct the mean fluorescence intensity variance. Thus, quantitative microscopy can serve as a robust method for measuring nanoparticle half-life using μL volumes of blood.231