FLOW-CYTOMETRY - FAST AND QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF PARTICLES IN SUSPENSION

The application of flow cytometers for automated and rapid measurement s of particles in suspension is presently widely accepted for biomedic al applications. Flow cytometers, however, also offer many advantages for determination of (properties of) particles in other application ar eas. In this paper the potential of flow cytometry for environmental a nalysis is demonstrated, using examples taken from the analysis of phy toplankton in sea water. Flow cytometry is applied for automated measu rement of the species abundance of phytoplankton in sea water, on the basis of the characteristic optical properties of the various algal sp ecies. More specific determination of, for instance, toxic phytoplankt on could be achieved by making use of selective stains. Another applic ation area is that of functional analysis of phytoplankton species. He re also specific fluorescent stains are used. Examples are presented o f viability analysis and of cell cycle analysis, both of phytoplankton species. Other applications of flow cytometry in analytical sciences are discussed.