In addition to these fluorescent emissions the FACScan can also collect information on the scattered and reflected laser light on the individual cells. There are two additional detectors that measure forward and right angle light scatter. Small cells deflect small amounts of light while large cells will deflect more. Consequently this parameter is an approximation of size. It is very important to remember that the FACScan detects particles and as such it also can detect cellular debris.
Sample quality is important.
The FACScan instrument can give you five pieces of information on a single cell. Usually a single lab will have a single budget to charge for their flow cytometer use. These are inexpensive, removable and have large storage capacity. We have these on both the acquisition and the off-line analysis computer. Your data must be stored on removable disks.