Yu-Kai Tong

Research Directions:

My research focuses on the development and application of single-particle detection technology using laser optical tweezers combined with confocal Raman spectroscopy. Utilizing a self-developed optical tweezer-Raman platform, I have achieved several results in areas such as environmental monitoring and biomedicine.

In the field of environmental monitoring, I have developed methods for the in situ measurement of physicochemical properties of single atmospheric aerosol particles, including particle size, hygroscopicity, viscosity, surface tension, and pH. I have also advanced techniques for real-time monitoring and analysis of key physicochemical processes in single aerosol particles, such as interfacial heterogeneous reactions and phase separation. These efforts bridge the gap between microscopic experimental studies and macroscopic field observations of aerosol particles.

In the biomedical field, I have achieved real-time monitoring of biophysical processes in single-protein condensates, revealing the mechanisms behind biomolecular condensate formation and the molecular interactions of related functional protein materials. Additionally, I have developed single-cell optical sorting and characterization methods, which are applied to multimodal analysis of clinical samples, including pathogenic bacteria and nucleated red blood cells, thereby supporting the early diagnosis of related diseases. My research group maintains collaborations with several institutions, including Peking University, Zhejiang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, and the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Education and Work Experience:

2011.09 – 2015.06: Nanjing University, Bachelor of Science

2015.09 – 2018.06: Tsinghua University, Master of Engineering

2019.09 – 2023.06: Peking University, Doctor of Philosophy

2023.11 – 2025.12: Zhejiang University, School of Physics, Postdoctoral Fellow

2026.01 – Present: Zhejiang University of Technology, School of Physics and Optical Engineering, Faculty

Join Us:

Graduate students with backgrounds in electronics, optics, biology, chemistry, environmental science, or related fields are welcome year-round. Those with experience in instrument development will be given preference.

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund, 2026/01–2028/12, Principal Investigator (PI)

2. Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF, 2023/11–2025/11, Principal Investigator

3. China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (CPSF), 2025/06–2025/11, Prinicipal Investigator

4. Priority-Funded Postdoctoral Research Project of Zhejiang Province, 2024/10–2025/11, Principal Investigator

1. Yu-Kai Tong, Rui Shi, and Hai Lei*. Raman dissection of water-interaction coupling in condensate-relevant peptides. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2025, 129, 10122.

2. Yu-kai Tong and Anpei Ye*, Laser trapping-Raman spectroscopy for characterizing single suspended atmospheric aerosols. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2024, 179, 117871.

3. Yu-kai Tong, Zhijun Wu, Bo Zhou, Min Hu*, and Anpei Ye*, Surface tension of single suspended aerosol microdroplets. Chinese Chemical Letters, 2024, 35, 109062.

4. Yu-kai Tong, Zhijun Wu, Min Hu, and Anpei Ye*, Measurement report: Water diffusion in single suspended phase-separated aerosols. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2024, 24, 2937.

5. Yu-kai Tong and Anpei Ye*, Liquid-liquid phase separation in single suspended aerosol microdroplets. Analytical Chemistry, 2023, 95, 12200.

6. Wenhao Shang, Anpei Ye*, and Yu-Kai Tong, Sub-cellular dynamic analysis of BGC823 cell after treating with multi-component drug CKI using Raman spectroscopy. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023, 24, 12750.

7. Yu-kai Tong, Yaoyao Liu, Xiangxinyue Meng, Jie Wang, Dongping Zhao, Zhijun Wu, and Anpei Ye*, The relative humidity-dependent viscosity of single quasi aerosol particles and possible implications for atmospheric aerosol chemistry. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2022, 24, 10514.

8. Yu-kai Tong, Xiangxinyue Meng, Bo Zhou, Rui Sun, Zhijun Wu, Min Hu, and Anpei Ye*, Detecting the pH-dependent liquid-liquid phase separation of single levitated aerosol microdroplets via laser tweezers-Raman spectroscopy. Frontiers in Physics, 2022, 10, 969921.

9. Yu-kai Tong, Teng Fang, Zhijun Wu, Min Hu*, and Anpei Ye*, Characterizing the hygroscopicity and volatility of single levitated aerosol droplets via optical tweezers-Raman spectroscopy. Environmental Science: Advances, 2022, 1, 781.

10. Bo Zhou, Yu-Kai Tong, Ru Zhang*, and Anpei Ye*, RamanNet: A lightweight convolutional neural network for bacterial identification based on Raman spectra. RSC Advances, 2022, 12, 26463.