Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Flow Cytometry

Flow Cytometry

The development of flow cytometry techniques began in 1934 with initial attempts by Andrew Moldavan, a bacteriologist who counted the cells in a flowing capillary system. Moldavan pumped cells through a capillary tube focused under a microscope for visualization. The invention of photometry allowed the measurement of differentially-stained cells, and Louis Kamentsky developed the first multiparameter flow cytometer in 1965 to identify and count the cancer cells in cervical tissue specimens.
In...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Pillars Article: Coreceptor Reversal in the Thymus: Signaled CD4+8+ Thymocytes Initially Terminate CD8 Transcription Even When Differentiating into CD8+ T Cells. Immunity. 2000. 13: 59-71.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)·2016

Same author

Let-7 microRNAs target the lineage-specific transcription factor PLZF to regulate terminal NKT cell differentiation and effector function.

Nature immunology·2015

Same author

T cell-B cell thymic cross-talk: maintenance and function of thymic B cells requires cognate CD40-CD40 ligand interaction.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)·2014

Same author

Thymic medullary epithelium and thymocyte self-tolerance require cooperation between CD28-CD80/86 and CD40-CD40L costimulatory pathways.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)·2013

Same author

Lck availability during thymic selection determines the recognition specificity of the T cell repertoire.

Cell·2013

Same author

Basis of CTLA-4 function in regulatory and conventional CD4(+) T cells.

Blood·2012

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Multicolor Flow Cytometry-based Quantification of Mitochondria and Lysosomes in T Cells

Multicolor Flow Cytometry-based Quantification of Mitochondria and Lysosomes in T Cells

Published on: January 9, 2019

Overview of flow cytometry.

Susan O Sharrow¹

¹National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.

Current Protocols in Immunology

|April 25, 2008

Summary

This unit introduces flow cytometry (FC) terminology and techniques. It covers instrumentation aspects and electronic cell separation methods for biological sample analysis.

Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Cell Biology
Analytical Chemistry

Background:

Flow cytometry is a powerful technique for analyzing single cells.
Understanding core principles is essential for effective application.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide a foundational overview of flow cytometry.
To explain key terminology and techniques.
To cover instrumentation and cell separation methods.

Main Methods:

Discussion of instrumentation-specific technical aspects of flow cytometry.
Explanation of electronic cell separation principles using flow cytometry.

Main Results:

Key terminology and techniques relevant to flow cytometry are presented.

More Related Videos

Flow Cytometry Protocols for Surface and Intracellular Antigen Analyses of Neural Cell Types

Flow Cytometry Protocols for Surface and Intracellular Antigen Analyses of Neural Cell Types

Published on: December 18, 2014

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation: A High Throughput Quantitative Method to Study Protein-protein Interaction

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation: A High Throughput Quantitative Method to Study Protein-protein Interaction

Published on: August 15, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Multicolor Flow Cytometry-based Quantification of Mitochondria and Lysosomes in T Cells

Multicolor Flow Cytometry-based Quantification of Mitochondria and Lysosomes in T Cells

Published on: January 9, 2019

Flow Cytometry Protocols for Surface and Intracellular Antigen Analyses of Neural Cell Types

Flow Cytometry Protocols for Surface and Intracellular Antigen Analyses of Neural Cell Types

Published on: December 18, 2014

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation: A High Throughput Quantitative Method to Study Protein-protein Interaction

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation: A High Throughput Quantitative Method to Study Protein-protein Interaction

Published on: August 15, 2013

Technical aspects of flow cytometry instrumentation are detailed.

Methods for electronic cell separation via flow cytometry are described.

Conclusions:

This unit serves as an introduction to flow cytometry.
It equips learners with essential knowledge of flow cytometry instrumentation and cell separation.