The Labeed group’s research is built on 20 years of study in the electrical properties of cells, and the way in which those properties both explain cellular function, and offer a way to exploit them for cell diagnosis or cell separation.

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The hypothesis on which all our work is built is that the electrical properties of the cell play a significant role in its function.  Whilst molecular biology is clearly of fundamental importance to cellular function, it does not explain all of the phenomena we see; the role of ions is fundamental to cell function but is often seen as secondary, except in so-called "excitable cells" (muscle and nerve).  Our work has demonstrated that these electrical properties are fundamental to many cells, often in unexpected ways. 

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Our group has world-leading expertise in a technique called dielectrophoresis (DEP), a method of non-invasively analysing thousands of cells simultaneously, in seconds.  This unprecedented time resolution, combined with other electrical analyses such as membrane potential and surface potential, allows us to explore new dimensions of cellular electrical properties and the way in which they interact with, and even control, the more familiar molecular cellular processes. 

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The current primary focus of the group is the study of the role these properties (which we collectively refer to as the cell electrome) play in blood cells (including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets).  These cells are typically in suspension and are often anucleate, so rely on other mechanisms to function; we have shown that these ionic processes play a significant role in the maintenance of biological rhythms, and may play an important role in pathologies including heart attacks, strokes, malaria, tuberculosis, and chronic fatigue syndrome. We are also working with theoretician colleagues to develop new biophysical theory which describes how these different aspects interact.