Equipment Flow Cytometry Core Facility

The FCF houses all of the LUMC’s research and diagnostic flow cytometry and mass cytometry instruments and is one of the largest flow cytometry facilities in the world, currently containing over 24 instruments. This includes conventional flow cytometers, high-speed spectral flow cytometers, cell sorters and mass cytometers.

Our equipment

Conventional flow cytometers

The FCF operates four standard conventional flow cytometers (up to 8 fluorochromes) and seven advanced conventional flow cytometers (up to 12 fluorochromes), including research-grade instruments located in biosafety level II and III laboratories (ML-II and ML-III) for analyzing biohazardous materials.

High-speed spectral flow cytometers

The FCF operates five high-speed spectral flow cytometers, which can simultaneously measure up to either 25 colors (three instruments) or 40 colors (two instruments) per cell at speeds of 30,000 to 35,000 cells per second.

Cell sorters

The FCF operates five cell sorters (up to 17 fluorochromes), which can be used to sort specific subpopulations for further study and analysis.

Mass cytometers

The FCF has three mass cytometers; cytometry by time of flight, or CyTOF. These cytometers can simultaneously measure more than 50 “labels”, i.e., metals of different mass, per cell. Two CyTOF instruments can also measure cells in situ in tissue sections.