In recent years, immunophenotyping by flow cytometry has become an indispensable tool for the integrated diagnosis and monitoring of oncohaematological diseases. It also plays an important role in immune, oncological and infectious diseases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) classification of tumours proposes a multi-parametric approach to disease diagnosis, integrating clinical, morphological, phenotypic and genotypic data characteristic of each entity, including immunophenotypic study by flow cytometry. This is based on the use of laser light beams that intercept cells as they pass through the flow chamber of the cytometer. The cells are sorted according to their size, complexity and the various markers used in the analysis, usually in the form of specific antibodies labelled with different fluorochromes. The presence or absence of expression of these markers is measured simultaneously as a relative percentage and, in some cases, as absolute values of each specific cell type. New generation multiparametric flow cytometry (NGF) provides highly sensitive and accurate cell analysis for the separation, sorting and quantification of cells in suspension by acquiring millions of cells using protocols standardised by professional societies or consortia.
At Catlab we work with a BD FACSLyricTM digital cytometer, consisting of 3 lasers with a configuration of 12 fluorescence channels and 14 parameters with a maximum acquisition rate of 35,000 ‘events’ per second, and a BD FACSCantoTM II cytometer, also digital, with 3 lasers, a configuration of 8 colours and 10 parameters.
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