FlowCam - Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

Between now and June you'll find Fluid Imaging at the following events:

Pittcon

AIChE's 2020 Frontiers in Particle Science and Technology

AADE's Fluids 2020

AAPS-NERDG Annual Meeting

Drug Development Networking Summit

Powder & Bulk Solids

NYSCC Suppliers' Day

Biotherapeutics Analytical Summit

Keep reading to learn more about each conference. We hope we'll see you on the road!

West Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Exton, PA) recently published a paper on a streamlined bioanalytical approach to determine the most appropriate primary container system early in drug development. Given the importance of monitoring biological drug and container interactions to ensure drug and patient safety, it is necessary to consider multiple variables when determining drug packaging systems.

Harry and Savannah (and Frances too) can't hide their excitement about our spring conference schedule! Here's where you can find us between now and June. Don't forget to bring a water sample, and we'll analyze it for you right in our booth.

Nick Ray (PhD Candidate) and Gretchen McCarthy (Senior) from the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) came to visit our FlowCam lab in Scarborough this week. Nick Ray had used a FlowCam in 2016 in Dr. Robinson Fulweiler's lab when he was a recipient of our Student Equipment Grant. Gretchen has worked in this lab since she was a freshman. She's planning to begin graduate school next year and will focus her studies on fisheries and aquaculture.

A research group with CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography in Kochi, India (https://www.nio.org/), has used the FlowCam^® to provide new evidence that temporal changes in the coastal waters of the Southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) cause size and structure changes in micro-plankton communities. Nutrient-rich coastal areas typically produce large-sized phytoplankton, and nutrient-depleted waters tend to produce smaller phytoplankton. These variations in plankton size can impact the food web, and therefore the economics of the area, where fishing is an important socioeconomic activity. 

What CAN'T be run through the FlowCam? The list below shows the majority of substances that have been imaged and analyzed on the FlowCam over the course of our 20 year history. Is your application on the list? If not, send us a sample, and we'll add it! Keep reading below to learn more about some of our favorite applications.

High-performance liquid chromatographyis a technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. It relies on pumps that pass a pressurized liquid solvent containing the sample mixture through a column filled with a solid adsorbent material. Each component in the sample interacts slightly differently with the adsorbent material, causing different flow rates for the different components and leading to the separation of the components as they flow out of the column.

We use our Flow Imaging Microscopy blog as a platform to bring you relevant news and academic research, as well as highlighting developments and new uses of FlowCam technology. This year we published 68 blog posts on a large variety of subjects. Keep reading to see the countdown to the most popular post of 2019.

Based on proven FlowCam^® technology, the FlowCam Cyano automatically identifies cyanobacteria from other algae and particles in aquatic samples. Using a patent-pending combination of excitation wavelength, phycocyanin fluorescence measurement, and image recognition software, the system automates what was previously done using manual microscopy. After differentiating the cyanobacteria from the other algae in the sample, VisualSpreadsheet and Advanced Classifier software can be used to further characterize specific types of algae found in the sample using 40+ physical parameters. 

Keep reading to view our new video and see the inner workings of the FlowCam Cyano, as well as a detailed demonstration of VisualSpreadsheet's automated classification process.

FlowCam customers frequently ask us how to optimize analysis of Microcystis, a globally pervasive colonial cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) which is seen in source water systems and recreational lakes. The colonies can range in size from a few microns up to several thousand microns in diameter. Customers are concerned about losing part of the sample or not being able to capture a quality image due to the colony’s size and density. Dense colonies superimpose cells in the image, making it easy to underestimate cell counts, while large colonies can make it challenging to determine what objective is best used to image the sample.

Question:  What protocol does Fluid Imaging recommend to analyze colonies and scums of Microcystis?