Patent ID: 7799569
Filing Date: 2010-09-21
Classification: A01N,C12N,C12Q,G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A process for evaluating a set of conditions for staining a population of cells for sorting, the population comprising a first type and a second type of cell, the process comprising; (a) staining a fraction of the population of cells with a fluorescent dye under a set of staining conditions; (b) exposing the stained cells to electromagnetic radiation as the stained cells are passed through an interrogation location of a flow cytometer at a rate, R; (c) determining a fluorescence emission characteristic of the exposed cells; (d) using the determined fluorescence characteristic to classify the exposed cells into two or more sub-populations of cells, one of the sub-populations being an enriched sub-population of the first cell type; (e) determining a coefficient of variation for the fluorescence emission characteristic of the cells of the enriched sub-population to provide an indication of sorting efficiency for the staining conditions; and (f) based upon the value of the coefficient of variation for the fluorescence emission characteristic of the cells, determining whether to modify any staining condition under which cells are to be stained or the rate, R, at which the stained cells are to be passed through the interrogation location of the flow cytometer in order to improve sorting efficiency.