 A flow cytometer with sample injection tube. | |
| Classification | Cytometry |
|---|---|
| Analytes | Cells or particles |
| Other techniques | |
| Related | Coulter counter |
Flow cytometry (FC) is a technique used to detect and measure the physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles.[1][2][3][4]
In this process, a sample containing cells or particles is suspended in a fluid and injected into the flow cytometer instrument. The sample is focused to ideally flow one cell at a time through a laser beam, where the light scattered is characteristic to the cells and their components. Cells are often labeled with fluorescent markers so light is absorbed and then emitted in a band of wavelengths. Tens of thousands of cells can be quickly examined and the data gathered are processed by a computer.[5]
Flow cytometry is routinely used in basic research, clinical practice, and clinical trials. Uses for flow cytometry include:
- Cell counting
- Cell sorting
- Determining cell characteristics and function
- Detecting microorganisms
- Biomarker detection
- Protein engineering detection
- Diagnosis of health disorders such as blood cancers
- Measuring genome size
A flow cytometry analyzer is an instrument that provides quantifiable data from a sample. Other instruments using flow cytometry include cell sorters which physically separate and thereby purify cells of interest based on their optical properties.
- ^ Picot J, Guerin CL, Le Van Kim C, Boulanger CM (March 2012). "Flow cytometry: retrospective, fundamentals and recent instrumentation". Cytotechnology. 64 (2): 109–30. doi:10.1007/s10616-011-9415-0. PMC 3279584. PMID 22271369.
- ^ "flow cytometry". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
- ^ Shapiro HM (2003). Practical flow cytometry (4th ed.). New York: Wiley-Liss. ISBN 978-0-471-41125-3.
- ^ Givan AL (2011). "Flow Cytometry: An Introduction". In Hawley T, Hawley R (eds.). Flow Cytometry Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol. 699. Humana Press. pp. 1–29. doi:10.1007/978-1-61737-950-5_1. ISBN 978-1-61737-949-9. PMID 21116976.
- ^ O'Neill K, Aghaeepour N, Spidlen J, Brinkman R (December 2013). "Flow cytometry bioinformatics". PLOS Comput Biol. 9 (12): e1003365. Bibcode:2013PLSCB...9E3365O. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003365. PMC 3867282. PMID 24363631.