Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Flow cytometry

Flow cytometry is a technique for examining, sorting and enumerating microscopic particles suspended in a stream of fluid. IT is frequently used in counting biological cells, especially blood cells.

In this technique, a beam of monochromatic light (typically a laser beam) is directed onto a narrow stream of fluid containing the particles in question. The particles are then counted and characterized based on their fluorescent or light-scattering properties.