3-Laser Flow Cytometer

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549250077

We apply for funding for the purchase of a flow cytometer. All applicants work in tumor and/or cell biology and the precise characterization of specific cell types as well as their growth, physiological status, proliferation and cell death is central to virtually every project in the applicants’ laboratories. To do so, we rely heavily on flow cytometry, which is a powerful technique used in all areas of cell biology and medicine to analyze and quantify characteristics of many individual cells or particles in a fluid suspension. Consequently, it is a routine analysis technique in the laboratories of all applicants. In our previous and ongoing work, we use it for an entire range of measurements, including the analysis of cell cycle progression, apoptosis as well as multiple functional assays. A critical parameter in these analyses is the number of parameters that can be analyzed in parallel, and this is determined by the nature of the light source and the quality of the analytical optical system. Up to now, we have mainly analyzed tumor cells in isolation and studied their response to experimental manipulations. However, in recent years it has become clear that the growth of tumors and their response to therapies are not only dictated by cell-autonomous parameters but also by their interaction with cells in their environment. For example, the success of immune therapies relies on the ability to render tumor cells recognizable for the host immune system. The need to analyze these interactions changes the requirements for the cytometer used. Since the relevant cell populations of a tumor are defined by a combination of several antigens, which are visualized by specific fluorescently labeled antibodies, the need for the number of light sources and detector systems increases. In addition, there are cellular parameters, such as proliferation status, which must be analyzed separately in specific cell populations. Here we apply for a flow cytometer, which meets these enhanced analytical demands and enables us to routinely analyze the changes in a complex population of cells in response to experimental manipulations.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: 3-Laser Durchflusszytometer
• Instrumentation Group: 3500 Zellzähl- und Klassiergeräte (außer Blutanalyse), Koloniezähler
• Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Martin Eilers