ABSTRACT
Flow cytometry is an analytical tool for high-speed cell analysis and purication. The basic principle of this technology, the ow portion of the name, is a pressurized uidics system that is capable of passing a cell suspension in a single le line. A laser beam transects this stream of cells and as each individual cell crosses the beam, information is collected through an optical detector. Parameters such as size and granularity (based on light scatter properties) as well as uorescent intensity measurements of the uorochromes used in the experimental protocol can be recorded and displayed in a variety of graphical formats. There are many uses of ow cytometry in both research and clinical laboratory settings, such as measuring the state of the cell cycle, viability, and cell physiological parameters, but by far the biggest use of this technology involves using antibodies to label and quantify antigen expression on both the surface and intracellular spaces of a cell. These antibodies may be produced in-house or bought from a commercial vendor. They may be used unlabeled or, more commonly, directly conjugated to a uorochrome.
