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Flow Cytometry: A Technique Waiting for Microbiologists

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Flow Cytometry in Microbiology

Abstract

The world of microorganisms provides a playground both for those fascinated by the prospects of understanding the nature of life, and for those interested in solving everyday problems arising from microbial activities. Both fundamental studies and applied aspects of microbiology have become “illuminated” in recent years by the techniques of flow cytometry (Boye and Løbner-Olesen 1990). It is, however, somewhat disappointing, considering the truly remarkable demonstrations of the usefulness and power of these approaches, that only a rather slow adoption has ensued. The reasons for this are not hard to find, and do not in any way detract from the great potential of flow cytometry as amply illustrated by existing literature. Cost may become less of a constraint as suitable low-power lasers become available (Shapiro 1985). It is also worth remembering that a high-pressure mercury arc lamp can give results as good as (or better than) a 5 W argonion laser in many applications (Peters 1979).

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Authors
  1. David Lloyd
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wales College of Cardiff, PO Box 915, Cardiff, CF1 3TL, Wales

    David Lloyd BSc, PhD, DSc (Professor of Microbiology) (Professor of Microbiology)

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag London

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Lloyd, D. (1993). Flow Cytometry: A Technique Waiting for Microbiologists. In: Lloyd, D. (eds) Flow Cytometry in Microbiology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2017-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2017-9_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2019-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2017-9

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