A rapid method for the determination of absolute particle sizes in a flow cytometer

Abstract

The most precise determination of a cell-size distribution can be expected by registering the signal of a three-dimensional size (particle volume). This is best performed in a flow cytometer with an integrated volume measurement according to the Coulter-principle.This electrical measurement is very fast and is more precise than the forward-scatter method which is used alternativly in flow cytometry. The mean size of particles which has been determined by the Coulter-principle is mostly given by arbitrary units. We, therefore, present here a simple and fast calibration method which allows the transformation of arbitrary to absolute values. In addition we compared these data with one- and two-dimensional measurements under the microscope and an image-processing-system, respectively.