Patent ID: 7776612

Claim:
A method for determining the equation of correlation between the number of molecules of an antigen per cell expressed on the surface of the cell, and fluorescence intensity associated with binding of a fluorescently-labeled antibody against the antigen, comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a plurality of cell groups comprising at least a first and a second cell group, each cell group comprising a single type of cell which expresses the antigen and for which the number of molecules of the antigen per cell expressed on the surface of the cell has been previously quantitated, wherein the number of molecules of the antigen per cell expressed on the surface of the cell in a first cell group differs from the amount in at least the second cell group; (b) preparing a fluorescence-labeled antibody having a known titer that specifically binds to the antigen; (c) individually contacting each cell group of (a) with the fluorescence-labeled antibody of (b); (d) determining the fluorescence intensity of the antibody bound to the antigen on the surface of the cell for each of the cell groups of (a); and (e) analyzing the correlation between the number of molecules of the antigen per cell expressed on the surface of the cell and each of the fluorescence intensity measurements determined in (d).