The flow cytometer is a device used in cell counting and biomarker detection, among other uses. The device works by suspending cells in a fluid stream while a laser beam detects the molecules and their size, as well as other parameters. Depending on the type of laser it is possible to detect different types of particles.
Mari Vanharanta is on board of Aranda sampling for her Msc thesis.
The aim of her project is to increase the knowledge of cell mortality in natural phytoplankton communities in the Baltic Sea.By knowing the abundances of live and dead cells in a phytoplankton community it’s possible to know what is the active proportion of the total community which effectively contributes to the overall biological processes.
Samples from different depths are taken, as the communities and the proportion dead/live cells along the profile might change.
Once the water samples are collected they are coloured with a fluorescence die. This will die the DNA of the dead cells. Then, when running these samples in the flow cytometer it is possible to know the amount of stained cells, which correspond to the dead ones, and the uncoloured ones, which correspond to the live cells.
Once the cruise is over Mari will have to analyse all the data from the flow cytometer using an special software.
Pia and Mari sampling from the rosette of niskin bottles that collect water from different depths in each station.
Mari looking at the plots of the flow cytometer results from the collected water samples. Mari loves this device, after spending so many hours working with it!
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