Intro to Flow Cytometry

Learn that flow cytometry measures characteristics of cells or particles in liquid suspension as they pass through a light beam. Understand its applications in research (studying stem cell differentiation) and clinical diagnostics (monitoring HIV progression by measuring CD4+ T cells).

Recognize that flow cytometry samples must be in liquid suspension, with cells from solid tissue requiring disaggregation first. Note that particles or cells typically range from 0.2 to 50 micrometers in size are suitable for analysis.

Learn that a flow cytometer comprises fluidics, optics, and electronics subsystems that work together to simultaneously measure multiple physical characteristics of single particles as they move through a fluid stream and laser beam.

Understand how the fluidic subsystem transports particles in a fluid stream (sample core) to the laser beam interrogation point, where incident laser light is scattered and fluorescence is emitted from the particles.

Learn that the optics subsystem includes excitation components (lasers, prisms, and lenses) that direct laser beams to the sample core, and collection components with appropriately positioned lenses that gather scattered and fluorescent light.

Understand how detectors in the electronic subsystem convert detected light into proportional electronic signals, which are then digitized, processed, and sent to a computer for data storage and analysis.

Summarize the module's core competencies: defining flow cytometry, describing suitable sample types, explaining measurable properties, and identifying the three subsystems of a flow cytometer.