Flow cytometry is a technology that simultaneously measures and analyses multiple physical characteristics of single particles, usually cells, as they flow in a fluid stream through a beam of light. The properties measured include a particle’s relative size (represented by forward angle light scatter), relative granularity or internal complexity (represented by right-angle scatter), and relative fluorescence intensity. These characteristics are determined using an optical-to-electronic coupling system which records how the cell or particle scatters incident laser light and emits fluorescence. A wide range of dyes, which may bind or intercalate with different cellular components, can be used as labels for applications in a number of fields, including molecular.
