Cell separations by flow cytometry.

Flow cytometry has become a standard method for separating individual subsets of cells from a heterogeneous population. Multilaser, multicolour cell sorters are increasingly common and have become more complex in recent years increasing the number of applications available. However, a cell sorting experiment is only as good as the input sample, and the preparation of this is extremely important. This chapter describes the methods used to prepare samples for flow cytometry and how they can be adapted and optimised according to cell type.