Flow cytometry is a powerful analytical method for various applications in pre-clinical and clinical research. It is used in cell cycle analysis, drug development, immunophenotyping, evaluating immunotherapy candidates and more. In these applications, flow cytometry is considered a ‘game changer’. Throughout this blog post, we will look at how flow cytometry is used to accelerate pre-clinical trials and what benefits that provides.
What Is Flow Cytometry?
Flow Cytometry is a technique that is widely used to detect, analyse and measure the physical and chemical characteristics of a group of cells. This method is used for various reasons such as cell counting, immune responses, phenotyping, viability and other applications.
To describe how flow cytometry works, we can start with the basics. Cells that are going to be analysed need to be prepared. Flow cytometry is a laser-based technology that can analyse multiple individual cells simultaneously when the cells are taken from blood or cell cultures. A flow cytometer is used to suspend cells in a liquid stream and push them through an excitation light beam (usually from a laser beam) one by one. How the cells interact with the light is then measured by a detection instrument–this measurement will be of fluorescence intensity or scattered light.
How Is Flow Cytometry Used To Accelerate Pre-Clinical Trials?
In pre-clinical applications, flow cytometry is used for several reasons. These include, but are not limited to, detecting virus-infected cells, characterising cells and tumours and measuring drug effects in subjects.
As a result of the recent developments in flow cytometry, this technique can be used to accelerate pre-clinical trials in many ways, including the number of parameters that can be analysed per individual sample. Some of the benefits of using flow cytometry include the following:
- Accurate Cell Counting
- Compact Machines
- High Reproducibility
- High Throughput
- Multi-Parameter Assays
- Preformatted Equipment
- Reduced Chance of Error
- Reduced Operator Time
- Simultaneous Analysis of Multiple Individual Cells
The information analysts can obtain through flow cytometry is vast and, as a result, can easily replace manual cell counting methods and other time-consuming procedures. The above developments all contribute to making pre-clinical trials more streamlined as they can be carried out quickly and with a more significant number of samples.
Flow Cytometry at Synexa
At Synexa, we specialise in bespoke flow cytometry panels for early-phase preclinical, translational and clinical phase trials. We can tailor our assays to match the requirements of our clients and also focus on developing novel de novo methods when required.
We offer a number of robust and reliable platforms for use in the clinical field, as well as providing a wide range of analytical assays. Our assay solutions include function assays, immuno-profiling and phenotyping assays and target engagement/PK/PD assays.
You can find more information about how flow cytometry is used to accelerate drug development here.
