At the Flow cytometry facility of the CBM, our staff provides scientific-technical support on flow cytometry, develops and optimizes new applications and performs cell separations.

Flow cytometry is an analytical tool that allows discriminating particles of different size and color. It is an analytical and/or preparative technique based on the simultaneous analysis of several parameters of optical nature, in a fast way and on a large number of individualized particles. This analysis is performed on each particle on the basis of light scattering and fluorescence emission of particles illuminated by a light source.

The parameters that can be analyzed by flow cytometry are: i) those related to the physical characteristics of the particle: size and complexity and ii) the different fluorescence associated with the particle.

The analysis is performed at rates of thousands of cells/second, which allows to obtain data of high statistical reliability, as well as to identify populations represented at low frequency within the overall population.

Another important feature of flow cytometry is that the analysis is performed in a particle suspension, so the particles or cells under analysis must be in suspension and in the form of a single particle (cell).

Finally, it is important to note that there is a restriction on the size of the particles under analysis, which must be between 0.5 and 100um.