Flow Cytometry

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Flow cytometry is used when researchers are trying to determine the single properties of any one cell. In order to do this, flow cytometers are used. Flow cytometers are used to recognize these properties and they are automated tools that can pick up these individual properties one at a time.

Flow Cytometers

Flow cytometers can detect things such as the size of a cell, the granularity of a cell, how much DNA is in one cell, the genes that are present in a cell, the amount of proteins that are in a cell, and the amount of surface receptors in cells.

Flow cytometers do their job by taking in a group of single, unclumped cells and pass them, one by one, by a laser beam. As each cell passes through the beam, fluorescent lights will scatter and show up on the cell. Because an entire cell will show as being fluorescent when passed through a beam, certain areas of the cell must be lit up at a much greater intensity in order for that particular component to be recognized and recorded.

Purposes of Flow Cytometry

Flow cytometry is used mostly for research and analytical purposes. The process helps researchers and scientists to understand things such as certain diseases better. Instances of flow cytometry show up quite often in research and medical journals as helping researchers in a specific study. When flow cytometry is used for this purpose, the sample cells that are used are usually discarded afterwards.

Other instances of flow cytometry are done for preparative purposes. In these instances, living cells will be divided into different containers, depending on their properties, to be used in future studies.

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Flow Cytometry Jobs

Filed under: Flow Cytometry - 17 Nov 2010  | Spread the word !

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Anyone who is interested in research or in any line of medical profession where it may be necessary to screen and detect the results of any abnormalities in a large sample of cells will likely have thought about a cytometry job. Flow cytometry can be helpful in researching various micro-organisms as well as detecting various types of blood cancers. Nevertheless, finding the right job is more difficult than other areas of research because of the specialized skills needed

Because of the extremely focused skill set that is necessary and the additional training that is required to become exemplary at using flow cytometers effectively, there are only a few areas where the skills are useful. Every position that you are likely to come across will be in a lab of some type. Typically, universities and private institutions will need a full line of flow cytometry trained staff in order to run their programs and research properly. Sometimes it is possible to find a position in a hospital that specializes in diagnosing and treating oncology patients.

One aspect to finding a job is that you will likely notice that your options of what type of institution you will be able to work for is limited. Unlike other professions with limited options, flow cytometry jobs are fairly easy to come by with a little bit of effort. Part of this can be chalked up to the lack of students and the other because these types of jobs are increasing at rapid rates.

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