Fluorescence flow cytometry is the principle involved in enumerating cell-counts by staining them with fluorescent dyes followed by subsequent detection using laser technology. Flow cytometry involves enumeration of cells based on their physical as well as chemical nature. This technique can enumerate thousands of cells in a minute.
Different fluorescent dyes absorb light at different wavelengths and upon excitation, emit the light at a higher wavelength. This principle is exploited to detect the chemical composition of various cells using the Fluorescence Flow Cytometry method. Thus, multiple dyes are used simultaneously to stain different cells and, with the help of a laser beam using the principle of hydrodynamic focusing, the chemical properties of the cells are studied depending on the stain absorbed by them.
At NexusCARE, we use the hematology automated analyzer SYSMEX XN-1000 to enumerate the different blood cell types using the fluorescence flow cytometry technique. The fluorocell WNR stains WBCs, basophils and NRBCs while fluorocell WDF stains the neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes and lymphocytes.
