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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.
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Flow Cytometry: A Blessing and a Curse.

Hannah Drescher¹, Sabine Weiskirchen², Ralf Weiskirchen²

¹Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.

|November 27, 2021

Summary

Flow cytometry uses laser technology for cell analysis, enabling detailed phenotyping with advanced reagents. This article reviews its applications, technical challenges, and clinical potential.

Keywords:

flow cytometry immunophenotyping multiparameter analysis

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Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Cell Biology
Immunology

Background:

Flow cytometry is a laser-based cell analysis technique.
It measures cell size, granularity, and phenotype using fluorescent reagents.
Recent advancements allow multi-parameter analysis with up to 50 antibodies.

Purpose of the Study:

To summarize technical risks and interpretation challenges in advanced flow cytometry.
To provide an overview of flow cytometry applications in research.
To discuss the clinical potential of flow cytometry.

Main Methods:

Review of recent developments in flow cytometry reagents, electronics, and software.
Analysis of technical challenges and interpretation issues in multi-parameter analysis.
Exploration of diverse research and clinical applications.

Main Results:

Significant expansion in multi-antibody combinations (up to 50) is possible.
Technical risks and interpretation complexities arise with increased antibody panels.
Flow cytometry has broad applications in research and emerging clinical uses.

Conclusions:

Despite advances, careful consideration of technical risks and interpretation is crucial.
Flow cytometry offers extensive research utility.
Its clinical applications are expanding, promising future diagnostic and therapeutic roles.