Reagents for measuring intracellular enzyme activity with flow cytometry

The line of enzyme substrates described, together with the flow cytometer, bring a simplified method of measuring intracellular enzyme activity to the research laboratory. They are optimized for use in flow cytometry but can also be adapted to other fluorescent detection methods (e.g., spectrofluorometry, fluorescent microscopy, and image analysis) (Figure 5). The large number of enzymes that can be measured with the reagents (currently 37), together with the automation and multiparametric capabilities of flow cytometry, offer many advantages over conventional methods of cell characterization. They also expand the potential of functional assays for studying many normal physiological and disease processes.