Aqueous carrier waveguide in a flow cytometer

Patent · Sat Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:870205

van den Engh, Gerrit ^[1]; Northrup, M Allen ^[2]

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1. Seattle, WA
2. Berkeley, CA

The liquid of a flow cytometer itself acts as an optical waveguide, thus transmitting the light to an optical filter/detector combination. This alternative apparatus and method for detecting scattered light in a flow cytometer is provided by a device which views and detects the light trapped within the optical waveguide formed by the flow stream. A fiber optic or other light collecting device is positioned within the flow stream. This provides enormous advantages over the standard light collection technique which uses a microscope objective. The signal-to-noise ratio is greatly increased over that for right-angle-scattered light collected by a microscope objective, and the alignment requirements are simplified.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• Assignee: Regents of University of California (Oakland, CA)
• Patent Number(s): US 5475487
• OSTI ID: 870205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/356/250/385/
advantages
alignment
alternative
apparatus
aqueous
carrier
carrier wave
collected
collecting
collection
combination
cytometer
detecting
detecting scattered
detector
detector combination
detects
device
enormous
fiber
fiber optic
filter
flow
flow cytometer
flow stream
formed
greatly
greatly increase
greatly increased
increased
light
light collected
light collection
liquid
method
microscope
microscope objective
noise ratio
objective
optic
optical
optical filter
optical wave
optical waveguide
positioned
provided
provides
ratio
requirements
right-angle-scattered
right-angle-scattered light
scattered
scattered light
signal-to-noise
signal-to-noise ratio
simplified
standard
stream
technique
transmitting
trapped
views
waveguide
waveguide formed