SpectraSorter: Ocean Insight spectrometer software application for high-throughput full-spectrum UV–VIS analysis and triggered sorting

Abstract

We present SpectraSorter, a C#-based software application for high-speed Ocean Insight spectrometers with an intuitive GUI. It performs rapid full-spectrum UV–VIS detection followed by real-time data processing, customizable visualization, precise triggering on any spectral features, and external communication via an Arduino microcontroller all in approximately one millisecond. We designed it for high-throughput analytical chemistry applications that require real-time analysis of optical spectra to inform subsequent sample sorting. Hence its name, the “SpectraSorter.” The software was used for the label-free enzymatic screening of bacterial microcolonies contained in microfluidic droplets, but is broadly applicable to other spectrometer screening applications.

Keywords

• C#
• Arduino
• High-throughput screening
• UV–VIS spectroscopy
• Droplet microfluidics
• Label-free measurements