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