Determination of linear fluorescence intensities from flow cytometric data accumulated with logarithmic amplifiers

Logarithmic amplifiers are useful in accumulating flow cytometric data with a large dynamic range. However, quantitative comparison of fluorescence intensities for different samples or different subpopulations within a sample is simplified by the conversion of data from log space back to linear space. A method is described in which fluorescent polystyrene spheres of differing intensities are used to construct a calibration curve for the logarithmic intensity scale. This allows calculation of relative linear intensity for each channel of the logarithmically accumulated data and determination of linear fluorescence means and coefficients of variation for comparative purposes. Fluorescent spheres of appropriate intensity may also be used as internal standards to monitor instrument and/or stain stability for samples accumulated using logarithmic amplifiers.