EVOGENE Christmas BONUS Seminar - Presentation and application of the cell sorter MoFlo Asterios EQ

Abstract: Flow cytometry is a technique for multiparametric analysis of particles (cells, platelets, microvesicles, beads etc.) by suspending them in a stream of fluid and passing them through a LASER. It allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of up to thousands of particles per second. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is a specialized type of flow cytometry. It provides a method for sorting a heterogeneous mixture of biological cells, one cell at a time, based upon the specific light scattering and fluorescent characteristics of each cell. It provides fast, objective and quantitative recording of fluorescent signals from individual cells as well as physical separation of cells of particular interest. This technology has applications in molecular biology, pathology, immunology, plant biology and marine biology. It has broad application in medicine. At Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Sciences we have a MoFlo Astrios cell sorter. It is located in the ZEB building at the Department of Pharmacy II. We will present the instruments application and possible uses. The MoFlo Astrios is a high-speed cell sorter that can be outfitted with different nozzle sizes (70 and 100 μm). With 4 lasers, 14 color detectors, and ability to detect particles as small as 200 nm using the forward scatter detector, Astrios is the most performant sorter in our lab. Maximum sorting speed with the 70 μm nozzle is 25,000 events/second (approx. 90 million events/hour); with 100 μm nozzle the maximum sorting speed is 10,000 events/second (or 36 million events/hour).