title: Quality assurance for polychromatic flow cytometry using a suite of calibration beads.
abstract: The quality assurance program presented here provides a means to maximize and maintain the performance of individual flow cytometers in a facility. To optimize performance, we recommend performing all three steps (optimization, calibration and standardization) in this program when a new flow cytometer is installed or whenever the flow cytometer's optical path is altered (e.g., lasers, filters or detectors are replaced). The complete process requires 3-4 h. On a more frequent basis, only a subset of these procedures need to be performed as a part of daily maintenance routines. The data generated can be tracked to monitor the instrument and determine whether service is needed. In addition, the data can provide a metric for whether repairs and upgrades have improved or harmed performance, and for future instrument-to-instrument comparisons. In sum, the procedures presented here represent an updated framework for optimizing, calibrating and standardizing a flow cytometer for daily use.
authors.affiliation: Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA. sperfetto@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Perfetto
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ambrozak
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Pratip K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chattopadhyay
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roederer
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D011786:Quality Control
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes