MULTISPECTRAL IMAGING FLOW CYTOMETRY

Flow cytometry has been an accepted technique for high throughput cellular analysis for several decades. It is unique in its ability to analyze large numbers of cells directly in fluid suspension, but it lacks any spatial resolution. A number of approaches have been taken to add imaging capabilities to flow cytometry, but generally at the expense of fluorescence sensitivity. This paper describes the use of time delay integration (TDI) to perform multispectral imaging flow cytometry (MIFC) at rates up to 18,000 cells per minute, corresponding to over 100000 images per minute, with very high fluorescence sensitivity.