If you use flow cytometry for biomedical research, you need the right flow cytometry system. Flow cytometry helps you study cells and groups of cells. It is helpful for immunophenotyping and diagnosing diseases. It also allows for quick and accurate lab testing.
BD Biosciences is a top maker of flow cytometers. They offer many high-quality systems for your clinical and research needs.
BD flow cytometry has many uses in biomedical research. They offer reagents and services to keep your lab running smoothly. With over 45 years of experience, they are an excellent choice for most facilities.
These systems can be a significant investment, so you must select the right one for your needs. The top BD flow cytometers cover a range of budgets and needs.
Overview of BD Sciences Flow Cytometry
BD Biosciences specializes in flow cytometry systems and reagents. They provide top-quality research tools. They also offer resources like an interactive human cell map and the BD Research Cloud.
They design their flow cytometry systems to handle many different uses. They range from rugged, portable systems for fieldwork to instruments for busy or specialized labs.
Key Advantages of Choosing BD Flow Cytometry
Choosing BD Biosciences as your flow cytometry provider gives several advantages. Here are some of the key benefits.
- Access to on-site training and setup assistance.
- Maintenance assistance that allows you to do proactive maintenance and save money through BD Technical Services.
- You can use high-quality software with your flow cytometer or similar device. This software helps you easily analyze and visualize data.
- Scientific support resources, including application notes, white papers, etc.
- BD Professional Services to help support applications and resolve specialized challenges.
- On-site tech support.
- A Special Order program customizes instruments and support to meet your needs. It also includes access to future upgrades and improvements.
- Decades of experience.
How to Choose the Right BD Flow Cytometer for Your Research
BD provides instruments designed for various purposes, including some of the best flow cytometry systems. Knowing how to choose a flow cytometer for research means understanding your specific research needs.
Things you should consider include:
- Where are you doing the work? Are you in a fixed lab, or do you need something smaller and more portable?
- Overall volume of work.
- How much flexibility and customization do you need?
- Whether you are primarily doing pure research or clinical, or combining the two,
- The experience of the people doing the work. Are you teaching students, or is everyone an experienced researcher?
- How much space do you have available, and what is your budget?
If you are in doubt, BD can help. They have experts available who can discuss your use case and guide you to the right instrument and system for your specific needs. They will also provide hands-on training for the system you end up buying.
BD FACSCanto II Flow Cytometer
The FACSCanto II is designed for large, busy labs. Because of this, it comes with automatic gating and the BD FACS Loader option for walkaway sample introduction.
It has an integrated fluidics cart and compressor with onboard housekeeping and runs automated startup and shutdown procedures. You can install protocols for all operations, including lymphocyte and stem-cell enumeration. A fixed-alignment flow cell minimizes startup time, and a patented optical design maximizes signal detection.
Learning is also remarkably easy; the quality control and single-tube setup assist operators. Healthcare providers can perform routine clinical tests regularly. This helps lower false negatives and false positives. These errors can cause issues for patients or research protocols.
The optional loader has a carousel that accommodates up to 40 samples at a time. This system is for large labs. They need to run many tests. It offers high reliability, consistency, and productivity.
BD LSRFortessa X-20 Cell Analyzer
The manufacturer designed the LSRFortessa X-20 for multicolor flow cytometry. It has up to five lasers that can detect 20 parameters. Its multicolor panels support complex applications such as the characterization of stem cells, immunophenotyping, etc. Affordable, expandable, and designed to help your growing needs. The design team built it on a proven platform, incorporating innovative optic designs that provide maximum sensitivity and resolution.
It is compact and cost-effective. This makes it great for small labs with limited space for flow cytometry.
It also has an optional High Throughput Sampler. This sampler can process a 96-well plate in under 15 minutes. It does this with very low carryover.
The software allows easy setup, acquisition, and analysis from a workstation. It also offers strong features like batch analyzing and different plot formats. This is an excellent choice if you need highly detailed analyses in a small space.
BD Accuri C6 Plus Personal Flow Cytometer
The Accuri C6 Plus is an exceptionally simple flow cytometer designed to bring flow cytometry within reach of more researchers. It can handle many tasks by weighing just 30 pounds and occupying little space.
These include cell and cancer biology, industrial uses, and plant biology. It has a quick and easy setup, a simplified workflow, and an automated sample loader. Moving between labs is easy. It has a simple user interface with clear software options and instrument controls.
Maintaining it is effortless, and it is exceptionally sturdy. This makes it perfect for flow cytometry in the field. It can even work in motion, which is excellent for research vessels. You can place it in a laminar flow hood for biohazard containment.
Many instructors choose it as a training cytometer for graduate and undergraduate students because it is easy to use. It still has enough sensitivity for use in research studies. It also supports many types of sample tubes.
This is a nice and simple flow cytometer. Great for field use and teaching. It can also handle complex tasks, like analyzing cancer cells.
BD FACSDiscover C8
This is a unique device. The FACSDiscover C8 is the groundbreaking spectral flow cytometer sorter to have sort-capable image analysis. This allows it to produce real-time spatial and morphological insights, visually confirming everything.
The workflow is simple, with built-in visual inspection and automated features. This system profiles highly complex diseases and systems.
It provides information on cell populations and their traits. You can set it up with 5 lasers and 78 fluorescent detectors. The sorting is flexible with 6-way, 5-ml 96-well, and 384-well plate options.
You don’t have to do daily alignment; the software combines image features and flow parameters. The system allows for detailed real-time analysis of image features. It can perform tasks like cell cycle analysis, image-enabled cell sorting, deep immunophenotyping, and other complex functions.
This system is for labs and facilities needing deep analyses quickly. It works in real-time and has a simple, partly automated workflow.
BD FACSymphony A3 Cell Analyzer
Simultaneously detecting up to 30 parameters and 28 colors, FACSymphony is a customizable flow cytometer with a smaller footprint. The design identifies and analyzes rare cell types and events, achieving high sensitivity. It can also do deep and broad phenotyping.
You can choose lasers from 26 wavelengths to customize to your research application. These lasers allow users to adjust, store, and recall multiple power ratings.
It works with BD Horizon Brilliant Fluorochromes to improve experimental design. It also offers evaluation kits and custom fluorochromes. Kits are available for both human and mouse use. The developers designed the software that comes with it for high-dimensional data analysis.
This is the centerpiece of BD’s high-parameter solution. The next step up, the A5, can do 50 parameters with up to 9 lasers.
This system serves labs that study rare diseases and events. It offers a high level of flexibility and customization. BD specialists will help you configure the product and order the correct dyes and antibodies. This removes a lot of the limitations on experimental design.
BD FACSLyric Clinical Flow Cytometry System
The manufacturer designed the FACSLyric for clinical labs. It has high sensitivity and resolution. It also offers a smooth and automated lab workflow. The goal is to achieve standardization and enable easy collaboration by making assays highly reproducible and portable.
It supports up to 12 colors. You can upgrade it on sight.
It can have up to 3 lasers: blue, red, and violet. It also has 12 fluorescence channels and 14 parameters. You need fluorescence compensation only every 60 days.
It has options for loading plates and tubes. A Universal Loader that can handle both also exists. The software meets FDA 21 CFR Part 11 standards.
It resolves dim and rare cell populations, offers between-instrument reproducibility, and provides a powerful tool for immunological assessment. The goal is faster detection with no reduction in quality. It has improved the stain index by up to 190% across all parameters.
So, which one of these six should you pick? It depends, of course, on your use case and specific situation.
Comparing BD Flow Cytometry Models
These six systems have a different use case and “mission” statement. To help you compare and understand which one to use, check out this list:
- FACSCanto II – busy labs that are doing high-volume work and need a high level of automation.
- LSRFortessa X-20 – small labs that need multicolor flow cytometry but have little space for a full-sized system.
- Accuri C6 Plus is excellent for training. Valid for new students and fieldwork. This system is portable and rugged. It can work in harsh environments like on ships.
- FACSDiscover C8 – complicated cell sorting, including image-based sorting. This is a unique device that will revolutionize cell sorting.
- FACSymphony A3 – unusual research protocols and work with rare diseases. The system is highly customizable and can handle particular research needs.
- FACSLyric helps clinical labs standardize, reproduce, and transport results. This ensures the best service for patients and clinicians.
In other words, you cannot say one device is better than the others. Each device focuses on a different area of research or clinical use. You should choose the one that meets your needs.
Consider BD Biosciences flow cytometry for their many years of experience and excellent service. All their devices include ongoing help from BD Technical Assistance. They also provide on-site training and setup support. Investing in a BD Flow Cytometer will help your lab for years.
Ferus Medical works with BD to provide our customers with high-quality BD Flow Cytometers. We ensure you have expert assistance when choosing the right equipment for your lab. Check out our wide selection of flow cytometers for modern biological and medical research.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Hard is it to Setup a BD Flow Cytometer?
These instruments are typically easy to set up, but BD offers customers on-site setup assistance. Instruments also come with setup guides to talk you through the process.
What Maintenance Do Flow Cytometers Need?
Exact maintenance needs depend on the specific model. Users need to top up flow cytometers with the appropriate dyes and reagents as they use them.
You also need to clean them regularly. Most modern cytometers run a shutdown and startup cycle every day. However, they also need to be cleaned entirely each month. You may also need to replace filters at intervals.
Again, the model determines maintenance, but most BD models require minimal maintenance.
What Computer Equipment do you Need?
All BD instrument software currently runs under Microsoft Windows 10. Some software will run on Mac, but the basic instrument control software requires Windows.
Does BD Provide Training?
Yes. BD offers many types of training, both on-site and in classrooms. They also provide resources like user guides and webinars. These tools will help you make the most of your BD Biosciences flow cytometer.
What Technical Support does BD Provide?
BD provides on-site technical support and advice. You can subscribe to a support plan. This plan covers all routine and unexpected maintenance. It helps reduce downtime and usually saves money.
They also have software experts to help you with the related applications.
Can You Get Your BD Flow Cytometer Customized?
Yes. Customers can customize some models through their Special Order system. This includes expert advice to make sure you are ordering the correct configuration. You can also make Special Order updates and upgrades anytime to benefit from improved technology.
Can You Trade In Your Old BD Flow Cytometer?
You can trade in your old flow cytometer for a more up-to-date model.
Does BD Provide All Your Dyes and Reagents?
Yes. We recommend using BD dyes and reagents in their flow cytometers to ensure compatibility. BD offers high-quality dyes and reagents, including Fluorochromes, for high-performance applications. BD’s specialists can assist you in selecting the appropriate dyes and reagents for your specific application.