[Description and performance of a flow cytometry apparatus: the EPICS]

Area of Science:

• Cytometry
• Cell Biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The EPICS C (Coultronics) is a cytometric flux apparatus used as a screening cell analyzer.
• Its application in analyzing immunologically-tagged mononuclear blood cells and studying cell cycles has been explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on the experience and effectiveness of the EPICS C apparatus for cell analysis and screening.
• To evaluate its performance in terms of rhythm, repeatability, and contamination.
• To assess the quality of screening (purity and yield) for fluorescent ball bearings.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a laser ray (2 or 5 watts) for analysis.
• Analyzed immunologically-tagged mononuclear blood cells with and without prior separation.
• Studied cell cycles in lymphoblastic cells, epithelial cells, and breast cancer cells.
• Conducted screening trials with fluorescent ball bearings of various sizes using specific parameters.

Main Results:

• Good results were obtained for rhythm, repeatability, and contamination when analyzing mononuclear blood cells.
• The EPICS C machine proved effective for cell cycle studies across different cell types.
• Optimal screening quality (purity and yield) for fluorescent ball bearings was achieved at speeds of 500-1,000 bearings per second.
• Key parameters for optimal screening included logarithm of green fluorescence, integral function of green fluorescence, and small-angle light diffraction.

Conclusions:

• The EPICS C apparatus demonstrates satisfactory performance for cell analysis and cell cycle studies.
• While analytical results are good, the screening function's speed remains a limitation.