Systematic Review on Flow Cytometry as a Versatile Tool for Disease Diagnosis

• Published in: Current pharmacology reports 2024-08, Vol.10 (4), p.237-249
• Main Authors: Ravindranath, Karunya Jenin, Srinivasan, Hemalatha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Molecular Medicine; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Review; Topical Collection on Applications of Millets and Probiotics on Cancer Therapy and Management
• ISSN: 2198-641X; 2198-641X
• DOI: 10.1007/s40495-024-00359-x

Purpose of Review Quantification and identification of cell fate remain to be the most important step within research and diagnostic laboratories.With advances in diagnostics and precision-medicine, there is a huge demand for cost effective, precise and specific cell counting methodologies. Cell counting techniques have evolved over the past 150 years commencing from manual countingusing a microscope and hemocytometer to automated cell counters followed by flow cytometric techniques. In this review, we have discussed on the applications of Flow Cytometry in diagnosing various diseases and its role as a multifaceted tool. Recent Findings Flow cytometry is an instrument with a sophisticated technology to analyze various parameters of individual cells flowing in a suspended form through a liquid medium. Physical characteristics such as size, granularity and other parameters can be determined by the property of scattering of light by individual cells under investigation. Its use has also been expanded to various fields in basic and applied research, biotechnology and clinical diagnostics. Furthermore, immunophenotyping of peripheral blood cells and various neoplasms, diagnosis of various diseases by analyzing cytokine detection, protein analysis, cell cycle and DNA analysis and finally, viral and bacterial cell population counts can also be performed using flow cytometry. Summary The amazing way in which this technique can provide minuscule details of single cells with a great degree of specificity and accuracy from a complex population of cells within a very short span, has made flow cytometry, an ingenuous tool for disease investigation.