Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

Flow Imaging Microscopes provide the in-depth characterization of particles in protein therapeutics as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When evaluating instrumentation in this area, it is important to consider and compare these five important features.

The FlowCam continues to be an important instrument in biopharmaceutical research. The ability to image and characterize morphological features of particulate in parenteral formulations is an important aspect of ensuring quality and safety in injectable drug products.

October 2018 — Environmental Engineering Research published a paper presenting a new method for cell counting Microcystis colonies using the FlowCam.  Researchers from Korea Water Resources Corporation, University of Central Florida, and Kyungbook National University developed a three-dimensional image processing method using an algorithm to count colonial Microcystis cells.    

Kent Peterson is the CEO of Fluid Imaging Technologies.

Every summer, around 160 researchers converge at the Workshop on Protein Aggregation and Immunogenicity hosted in Breckenridge, Colorado by the University of Colorado Center for Pharmaceutical Technology and the AAPS Focus Group on Protein Aggregation and Immunogenicity. 

Launched in late 2017, the FlowCam^® Nano has garnered several awards and recognitions for breakthrough innovation in laboratory science during its first year on the market. As the only particle analyzer capable of simultaneously counting, characterizing and producing high-resolution digital images of nanoparticles in liquid samples, the FlowCam Nano fills a gap in data procurement and analysis that no other instrument provides.

In early 2019, Fluid Imaging Technologies will release the FlowCam+LO, a patent-pending flow imaging particle analyzer that simultaneously conducts light obscuration analysis.  

In this recently published paper, colleagues at Baker Hughes demonstrated that dynamic fluid imaging can be used to analyze the oil content in produced water. Using the FlowCam, they were able to quickly analyze the oil/solids content, oil droplets size and size distribution using only a small sample size. Additionally, the analysis help to understand the behavior and performance of reverse emulsion breakers (REBs) used in water clarification. As a result, various methods of REBs could be tested and the most effective methods were identified.

The Innovator of the Year award recognizes a Maine manufacturer who is creating game-changing ideas, processes, products, services and business models. Companies who were nominated have created new and fresh products in the past year, have had a positive effect on their business, industry or community through their innovation, and have embraced impressive technology to achieve their innovation.

People often ask us, "What is the FlowCam?" and we answer with one of the following:

• an imaging flow cytometer
• an imaging particle analyzer
• a really cool microscope
• the best thing since sliced bread

But really it's all of those things. The FlowCam is a flow imaging microscope that captures high-resolution digital images of nano- and microscopic particles suspended in a fluid stream. 

The ability to characterize particles has always been of utmost importance to protein scientists. Until recently flow imaging microscopy has offered imaging data to acquire size, shape and other morphological information used to differentiate protein aggregates (ranging in size from 2 µm to 5 mm) from other particles in a given formulation.

NIST protein agglomerates as imaged with 40X oil immersion Nano-Flow Imaging system.