Flow cytometry is a powerful technology that allows researchers and clinicians to perform complex cellular analysis quickly and efficiently by analyzing several parameters simultaneously.
Top 5 Questions You Should Ask When Buying a Flow Cytometer
1. What type of information can you obtain in terms of cell-based assays at the level of individual cells?
2. How does the company’s technology improve your level of confidence in flow data?
3. How does the learning curve of the instrument’s software compare to competitive offerings?
4. Will you be able to perform assays on this instrument without extensive experience?
5. Can the company provide some key differentiators regarding their system(s)?
You may also wish to ask where you will be in three to five years:
How many samples and what kind of assays will you be running?
What parameters will you be looking at?
Do you expect to increase the number or complexity of your applications and is it possible to upgrade the machine you’re considering?
If the instrument doesn’t meet your future needs, you may better serve your lab in purchasing a higher-end instrument.
Fields of work respondents to our latest flow cytometers survey belong to:
Immunology | 21% |
Molecular Biology | 13% |
Microbiology | 6% |
Biochemistry | 6% |
Oncology | 5% |
Pharmaceuticals | 4% |
Hematology | 4% |
Plant Biology | 3% |
Hospital/Medical | 3% |
Pathology | 2% |
Marine Biology | 1% |
Other | 8% |
Just a few years ago, working with a flow cytometry instrument was generally done by teams of highly trained experts at core facilities, working on massive machines costing more than $100,000. Today’s instruments can be built for benchtop use and are getting ever cheaper. Much of the machine setup is now automated, which will likely continue to democratize the method.
Fields of work respondents to our latest flow cytometers survey belong to:
Important | |
High accuracy analysis | 98% |
More reliable lasers | 98% |
Service and support provided by vendor | 96% |
Low maintenance/easy to clean | 91% |
Price | 90% |
Warranty | 87% |
Ease of use | 83% |
Cell sorting | 65% |
Ongoing expenses for reagents, consumables, and parts | 52% |
Ease of Installation | 52% |
Recently Released Flow Cytometers
Guava® easyCyte™ Series
• Offers up to eight-parameter detection in a singlesampler format
• Four models are available: two single-laser units capable of detecting five to six parameters and two duallaser systems that can detect six to eight parameters
• Features a small footprint and easy maintenance
• Reduces number of cells needed for analysis and the amount of waste generated
EMD Millipore
www.millipore.com
Gallios
• New 561 nm laser option now available
• Laser provides researchers with the ability to analyze a greater range of fluorescent proteins and to more efficiently excite PE/PE tandems
• Features an innovative forward-scatter detector that provides up to three measurements of cell size and visualization of particles down to 0.404 μm in diameter
Beckman Coulter
www.beckmancoulter.com
Copas Plus
• For high-throughput analysis and sorting of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPS) clusters using large particle flow cytometry
• Allows the analysis and sorting of intact hiPS cell clusters from a complex mixture of varying sizes based on size, optical density and fluorescent parameters
• Does not influence the morphology or viability compared to manually sorted cell clusters
Union Biometrica
www.unionbio.com
FACSJazz™ Flow Cytometer Cell Sorter
• Simplifies cellular isolation and analysis for researchers requiring high sample integrity
• Occupies 20” x 20” (51 cm x 51 cm) of benchtop space
• Features high sensitivity to identify and isolate target cells for up to eight parameters
• Capable of identifying, characterizing and isolating single or multiple cells and depositing them in 96 and 384 well plates
BD Biosciences
www.bd.com
Flow Cytometer Manufacturers
BD Biosciences | www.bdbiosciences.com |
Beckman Coulter | www.beckmancoulter.com |
EMD Millipore | www.emdmillipore.com |
Life Technologies | www.lifetech.com |
Partec | www.partec.com |
Union Biometrica | www.unionbio.com |