Flow cytometry

Abstract

Flow cytometry allows the analysis and sorting of particles of biological interest at rates of more than 104s-1, based on the analysis of light scatter and fluorescence. It also permits the quantitative analysis of many cellular constituents based on fluorescence measurements. Measurements at the single-molecule level have been reported. Because of the versatility and richness of information of flow cytometry, it is used in biological and biomedical research, and for clinical data collection. This chapter provides an overview of flow cytometry and its biomedical and clinical applications. For readers interested in further details, we provide references to additional reviews of subtopics. Shapiro provides a comprehensive account of flow cytometry, covering all aspects up to 1995.