TERMINOLOGY AND NOMENCLATURE FOR STANDARDIZATION IN QUANTITATIVE FLUORESCENCE CYTOMETRY

Terminology in any field is a complex mix of established conventions, accepted usages, disputed terms, and occasional misnomers. The termino logy that has evolved for quantitative fluorescence cytometry (QFCM) i s especially multifarious, in part because QFCM encompasses a range fr om subjective visual assessments to objective photon counts. Thus, whi le descriptive terms such as ''dim'' and ''bright'' are still quite us eful, quantitative terms such as ''binding capacity'' should be used w ith collective understanding of their exact meanings. This article rev iews current usage and proposes definitions that, with refinement from suppliers and users of QFCM technology, can provide the required clar ity (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss,Inc.(dagger).