Conventional Flow Cytometer
Lab:
Description:
Conventional flow cytometers have been instrumental in various applications such as Immunology, Infectious diseases, Oncology, etc. Over time, the technology developed from the limited 3-4 to the greater 8-13 channels instruments, the latter of which kick-started the multi-parameter era in Flow Cytometry. The availability of more channels has broadened, particularly, the field of Immunology which has progressed immensely in the characterisation of events that, specifically, required more than 4 channels (i.e., memory and regulatory T cells, cellular activation, and functional studies) to conduct detailed analyses.
Model:
Beckman Coulter DxFLEX Flow Cytometer
Location:
Biomedical Research Institute (BMRI), Tygerberg Medical campus
Functions:
The Beckman Coulter DxFLEX Performance characteristics:
- 3 – laser set up configured with 13 channels of detection
DxFLEX laser and band pass Configuration
- User friendly and free software for data acquisition and analyzes, with various operating tools to create analyses dot plots and histograms with gates and statistics
- A great addition to the software design is the ability to change X and Y scaling of up tp 7 logarithmic decades as well as adjusting compensation directly on the graph.
- Sample loader can accommodate 32 FACS tubes or a 96 well plate (round bottom preferred)
- Automated sample acquisition with an acquisition speed of up to 30 000 events per second
- Automated recording and export of data to a user defined folder location
- Avalanche Photodiode detectors instead of PMTs, equates to low electronic noise and enhanced resolution
- Automated quality control of parameters: laser delay, laser power, channel gains, fluorescent intensity, rCV
- Software: CytExpert for DxFLEX
- Volumetric system allows for the enumeration of events (events/μl) eliminating the need of counting beads
- IVD certified instrument
