A new flow cytometric transducer for fast sample throughput and time resolved kinetic studies of biological cells and other particles

Abstract

AbstractIn state of the art flow cytometric transducers, the cells are supplied through tubes. Passage through the tube and washing between different samples is time consuming and limits the number of samples that can be processed in a given time. This is a drawback particularly with automatic routine instruments. For kinetic studies in the time range of seconds, it is necessary to perform the cell reactions directly in the transducer in order to have a short delay between the suspension vessel where the cell reaction is in progress and the point of measurement. A new one parameter electrical sizing transducer without a particle supplying tube is described and compared with a conventional Metricell transducer. The cells are directly supplied from an exchangeable vessel to the measuring point in the transducer. The vessel which is an inexpensive mass produced product, serves as the injection tip for passing the cell suspension into the focusing flow path. There is no interconnected tube to delay or intermix the cells in the stage between the reaction in progress in the vessel and flow analysis. Delay times of only 1 second are achieved with the new transducer, and by supplying each sample with its own vessel subsequent samples are analyzed without the necessity of cleaning a cell supplying tube. In this way a high throughput of samples per time unit is achieved and time kinetic experiments in the time range of seconds can be performed. The design of a tubeless multiparameter Fluvo Metricell transducer is explained.