Introduction to flow cytometry
Flow cytometry is a powerful technique for the multi-parametric analysis of individual cells within heterogeneous populations. Currently, our facility provides flow cytometers capable of distinguishing up to 10 colors simultaneously. The flow cytometer performs this analysis in a short timeframe (seconds to minutes) on a large number of cells (104 - 106) in suspension. Cells are passed in a single file through a laser beam and light emitted by each cell, as a result of fluorescence, is captured by several detectors in the optical system. The generated data can be analyzed via dedicated software to report on cellular characteristics such as size, complexity, phenotype, and viability.
Possible applications
- Analysis of intra- and extracellular antigens by means of immune fluorescence
- Cell cycle and DNA ploidy analysis
- Cell proliferation and cell death detection
- Absolute or relative cell counts
- Membrane potential
- Phagocytosis
- Monitoring of gene transfer
- Intracellular Ca2+ and pH responses
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