flow cytometry Insights

What is flow cytometry?

Flow cytometry is a laser-based, biophysical technology employed in cell counting, cell sorting, biomarker detection and protein engineering, by suspending cells in a stream of fluid and passing them by an electronic detection apparatus. It allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of single cells flowing through an optical and/or electronic detection zone. Common applications include identifying and quantifying specific cell populations in a mixed sample, such as blood, and measuring cell size and intracellular components.

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What other technologies are related to flow cytometry?

flow cytometry Competitor Technologies

ELISA

ELISA is a plate-based assay technique for detecting and quantifying substances such as peptides, proteins, antibodies, and hormones. It can be a competitor as it can measure protein expression and cytokine levels, which can also be assessed by flow cytometry.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 31% (10.3k) of relevant job posts

western blotting

Western blotting is used to detect specific proteins in a sample, and can be used to measure protein expression levels as can flow cytometry. While not providing single-cell data, it competes with flow cytometry for bulk protein quantification.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 29% (3k) of relevant job posts

immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemistry is used to visualize the spatial distribution of specific proteins in tissue sections, similarly to how flow cytometry can detect proteins on/in cells. Although the method of analysis differs, the goal is similar and therefore can be considered a competitor in some use-cases.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 29% (2.5k) of relevant job posts

Western blot

Western blotting is used to detect specific proteins in a sample, and can be used to measure protein expression levels as can flow cytometry. While not providing single-cell data, it competes with flow cytometry for bulk protein quantification.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 25% (2.8k) of relevant job posts

ELISpot

ELISpot is a cell-based assay to quantify cytokine-secreting cells, which can also be enumerated and characterized by flow cytometry. It is a competitor assay for measuring cellular immune responses.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 62% (1.1k) of relevant job posts

microscopy

Microscopy techniques, especially fluorescence microscopy, can be used to visualize cellular components and processes, similar to the information gained from flow cytometry. High-content imaging competes with flow cytometry.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 25% (2.3k) of relevant job posts

Luminex

Luminex is a multiplex assay that can measure multiple analytes (proteins, cytokines, etc.) simultaneously. It competes with flow cytometry for measuring multiple parameters, though it does not provide single-cell data.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 39% (1.1k) of relevant job posts

MSD

MSD (Meso Scale Discovery) is a technology for multiplexed immunoassays, similar to Luminex. It competes with flow cytometry for quantifying multiple analytes, although it does not provide single-cell data.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 33% (1.3k) of relevant job posts

flow cytometry Complementary Technologies

cell culture

Cell culture is used to grow cells for analysis by flow cytometry. It provides the cells needed for the assay.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 35% (3.8k) of relevant job posts

FlowJo

FlowJo is a software package used for analyzing flow cytometry data. It is essential for interpreting the results obtained from flow cytometry experiments.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 48% (1.6k) of relevant job posts

cell sorting

Cell sorting, often using FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorting), is an application of flow cytometry to physically separate cells based on their characteristics. It directly complements flow cytometry analysis.

mentioned alongside flow cytometry in 73% (883) of relevant job posts