Calibration of Flow Cytometry for Quantitative Quantum Dot Measurements

Abstract

Observations of quantum dot (QD) labeled cells in biomedical research are mainly qualitative in nature, which limits the ability of researchers to compare results experiment-to-experiment and lab-to-lab to improve the state-of-the-art. Labeled cells are useful in a range of in vitro and in vivo assays where tracking behavior of administered cells is integral for answering research questions in areas such as tissue engineering and stem cell therapy. Before the full potential of QD based toolsets can be realized in the clinic, uptake of QDs by cells must be quantified and standardized. This unit describes a novel, simple method to assess the number of QDs per cell using flow cytometry and commercially available standards. This quick and easy method can be used by all researchers to calibrate their flow cytometry instruments and settings, and quantify QD uptake by cells for in vitro and in vivo experimentation for comparable results across QD conjugate types, cell types, research groups, lots of commercial QDs, and homemade QDs.