Multicolor Flow Cytometry Best Practices for Optimization
BioLegend is ISO 13485:2016 Certified
Toll-Free Tel: (US & Canada): 1.877.BIOLEGEND (246.5343) Tel: 858.768.5800 biolegend.com
02-0006-03
World-Class Quality | Superior Customer Support | Outstanding Value Build a Better Multicolor Flow Cytometry Assay Flow cytometric assays of four to six colors are relatively easy to construct and analyze. At this number, you can choose the brightest fluorophores and ensure that they have minimal spectral overlap. However, many researchers prefer to maximize the number of markers in their panel due to limited sample volume or to see the inter-connectivity of many parameters simultaneously. Increasing the number of markers in a multicolor panel requires that a set of guiding principles be followed to ensure that the sensitivity and statistical consistency are maintained between sample and day. As the number of markers in a panel increases, the number of colors with overlapping spectra increases, and so do the complexities of experimentation and analysis.
Sensitivity = Signal Brightness − Background (Noise) (MFI+) - (MFI-) Population = Fluorophore Brightness × Resolution Degree of Labeling of the Antibody × Expression Level of the Antigen per Cell
Building a balanced panel, titrating and optimizing your antibodies, and using the appropriate controls can all help to minimize aberrations and ensure confidence in your data set. In this brochure, you can learn more about how to get the most out of your multicolor flow cytometry experiment by following these guiding principles.
View all of our fluorophore conjugated antibodies at: biolegend.com/flow_cytometry_conjugates
Table of Contents Instrument Specifications ...... 3 Balance Antigen Expression vs. Fluor Brightness...... 4 Fluorophore Considerations...... 5 Featured Fluorophores...... 6 Optimize and Control...... 10 Blockers and Buffers...... 11
2
Customer Service: 858-768-5800 Instrument Specifications Know your Instrument! Spillover Matrix Reference your instrument’s specifications while constructing When running any flow cytometry experiment, keep in mind a multicolor panel to ensure that you can optimally detect the that high compensation values are not inherently problematic fluorophores that you choose for your experiment. If you don’t as long as you are able to distinguish your positive and negative have this information, contact your flow cytometry facility for populations. Additionally, compensation values can be affected the specifications. Most advanced cytometers have up to 5 lasers by the absolute voltage of each channel. For each experiment, including ultraviolet (355 nm), violet (405 nm), blue (488 nm), use unstained and single stained biological controls to adjust the green (532 nm) or yellow-green (561 nm), and red (633 nm). In voltage for each channel. addition to the lasers on your instrument, there are a limited The spread matrix below was generated using anti-CD4 number of detectors and filter combinations which will dictate antibodies (clone SK3) conjugated to each of the fluorophores how many and which fluorophores you can detect. and run on a Cytek™ Aurora spectral cytometer with 3 lasers Many standard flow cytometers utilize photomultipler (405 nm, 488 nm, 633 nm). On the right, you can see how tubes (PMTs) and specific bandpass filters to detect specific this translates to your experiments as the amount of spillover fluorophores. Alternatively, some newer instruments utilize increases. spectral unmixing for up to 48 fluorescent parameters in a single assay. This is done, in part, by integrating the full spectral signature of fluorophores with very similar spectra, such as Brilliant Violet 421™ and Pacific Blue™. In lieu of using PMTs, these cytometers have Avalanche Photodiode (APD) detectors, which also enables the detection of fluorophores in the near-IR and infrared wavelengths. 106
105
104
aci c Blue™ 103 P Channel -103 e™ 700 488 ™ ™
™ ™ ™ ™ ™ 750 ™ ® 647 lu
™ 594 3 3 4 5 6 P B -10 10 10 10 10 C 510 570 anine5.5 e™ 711 uor® uor uor® 605 650 750 785 421 rC anine7 anine5 c ir y PE zzle y Fl Fl Fl APC AP BV BV BV BV BV BV BV a ci Pe BV a a a C/Fire™ 810 Pa PE/C ex ex ex PE/C AP APC/F Spark NIR™ 685 Spark Blue™ 550 PE/D Al Al Al PerCP/Cy 106 BV421™
Paci c Blue™ 5 105 BV510™ 104 BV570™ yanine BV605™ 103 BV650™ PE/C BV711™ BV750™ -103 BV785™
3 3 4 5 6
Source Alexa Fluor® 488 -10 10 10 10 10 Spark Blue™ 550 APC PE PE/Dazzle™ 594 106 PE/Cyanine5 5 PerCP 10
PerCP/Cyanine5.5 104
PE/Cyanine7 ire™ 750 APC 103
Alexa Fluor® 647 APC/F Spark NIR™ 685 -103 Alexa Fluor® 700 APC/Fire™ 750 APC/Fire™ 810 -103 103 104 105 106 APC
3
biolegend.com Balance Antigen Expression vs. Fluor Brightness 1. Prior to choosing a particular fluorophore/antibody combination, determine the expression level of the antigen you wish to detect. If the expression level is entirely unknown, reserve the brightest fluorophores for this target to ensure the best chance of adequate detection.
2. Understand how a disease state, exogenous treatment, or stimulation may affect antigen expression. For example, while CD4 is abundant in both mouse tissue and human peripheral blood, it is downregulated upon PMA/Ionomycin treatment. In this case, you can try to use a brighter fluorophore for CD4 or gate on CD3+ CD8- events. Keep in mind that antigen expression may be donor- dependent and change over the course of maturation or within different cellular subsets.
Background CD19 CD20 CD22 CD38 B Cells n im l ed im l ed
5 10