Flow Cytometry

Service Manager: Dr Aileen Congreve

Flow cytometry is the science of measuring the physical and/or chemical characteristics of cells or other similarly sized particles (e.g. beads, micelles, microspheres) as they pass in a fluid, single-cell stream through a measuring apparatus. Each particle is interrogated by one or more lasers and the system measures the degree and direction of scattered light, this provides information about the particle's shape, size and structure. The particles may also be stained with a fluorescent dye which is excited by the lasers; the fluorescence signals are collected by precise optical and electronic components, converted to digital values and sent to a computer for analysis. The important feature about flow cytometric analysis is that measurements are made separately on each particle in turn, and not just as average values for the whole population. Flow cytometers are able to analyse several thousand particles every second, in real time, and can actively separate and isolate particles displaying specified user-defined properties.

Services Available

The applications for flow cytometry and cell sorting are numerous. Cellular properties can be estimated such as DNA content (cell cycle analysis, ploidy, apoptosis, DNA synthesis), viability, proliferation, enzyme activity, mitochondrial membrane potential, calcium flux, pH and cell surface receptors. Sub-populations can be physically isolated for further investigation. 

The MoFlo can analyse and sort user-specified particles 4-ways into collection vessels (Eppendorf tubes, 96 well plates, microscope slides etc) at rates of up to 30,000 cells per second

Contact Details

Dr Pamela Robinson
Analytical Services Coordinator
+44 (0)191 334 4646
analytical.services@durham.ac.uk