Flow cytometry is a laser-based technique that is used to detect and measure the characteristics of particles or cells in a heterogeneous fluid mixture. 

Advantages of flow cytometry 

• Is a powerful tool with diverse applications in several fields including molecular biology, cancer biology, immunology, infectious disease monitoring, bacteriology, and virology
• Analyzes subpopulations and produces detailed data in a few minutes when used to study heterogeneous cell populations
• Provides a high level of accuracy and highlights any non-uniformity when studying uniform cell populations 
• Can detect the content of DNA by using fluorescent markers
• Can detect different stages of cell death, apoptosis and necrosis based on differences in the biochemical and morphological changes
• Can be used to study multi-drug resistant bacteria present in the blood or other biological samples
• Can be used in clinical labs to detect malignancy in bodily fluids