Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoparticles released by cells and have high potential as disease biomarkers. EVs are studied by flow cytometers, which measure scattering in arbitrary units. With Mie theory, arbitrary units can be related to diameter when the particle refractive index (RI) is known. However, a setup to determine the RI of nanoparticles in a traceable manner, including uncertainty, is lacking. Therefore, we have developed the first metrological flow cytometer, utilizing Laguerre-Gauss illumination, multi-angle light scattering, artificial intelligence data processing, and a calibrated syringe pump, to traceably determine the size, RI, and concentration of single nanoparticles in liquid.
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