Flow cytometry: a high-resolution instrument for everyone

Abstract

A new flow configuration for flow cytometry has been devised in which a flat, laminar stream of water, containing the stained cells in a narrow sector, is formed on a microscope cover slip by a pressurized jet of water directed onto the glass at low angle. The stream of cells is viewed by means of a fluorescence microscope with incident illumination and a pulse photometer. Coupled to a multichannel pulse height analyzer, the instrument constitutes a stable and easy-to-operate flow cytometer with a resolution equal to or better than a coefficient of variance of 1.4 percent in measurements of cellular DNA.