FlowCam - Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

After a two-year break, the American Water Works Association's ACE Conference will be hosted in-person in San Antonio, Texas, from June 12th - 15th. The conference brings together water sector professionals from around the country to learn about new technologies and techniques in water quality monitoring, mitigation strategies, and overcoming engineering challenges. 

When you buy a FlowCam, it's more than just an instrument for your lab. It represents a partnership! You join our FlowCam family and gain access to our team of technical experts dedicated to supporting and improving your FlowCam and VisualSpreadsheet experiences.

This May, nine aquatic science organizations will come together in person to host the largest aquatic science conference in history. The 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting "is designed to bring together deep, multidisciplinary subject-matter expertise to collaboratively educate one another and solve the complex environmental problems facing our society and our planet today".

Flow Imaging Microscopy (FIM) has emerged as an essential tool and an increasingly common approach in analytical labs for the quantification and characterization of particles in biotherapeutics. The body of scientific research using FlowCam technology to analyze biotherapeutic samples is continuing to grow and expand. 

These publications not only demonstrate the utility of FlowCam in biotherapeutic development and manufacturing but highlight exciting new applications for FlowCam such as artificial intelligence-based particle analysis as well as cell and gene therapy development.

The new ALH for FlowCam^TM Automated Liquid Handling system is ready for deployment in your lab. Automated liquid handlers (ALHs) use robotics to perform sample processing and analysis with minimal human intervention. Automation reduces the time and effort required from operators to process samples and offers improved repeatability, safer lab operation, and increased productivity.  

ALH for FlowCam provides unattended analysis of up to 384 samples and is compatible with all new and existing  FlowCam 8000 series instruments, FlowCam LO, and FlowCam Cyano.  The ALH offers flexible hardware and a configurable deck platform that allow the instrument to meet each user's specific workflow requirements, including sample preparation such as mixing, dilution and heating/cooling, as well as instrument cleaning. 

Each year the FlowCam Aquatic Research Equipment & Travel Grant is awarded to two recipients: a graduate-level researcher and an undergraduate faculty member to enrich a particular course or to support a student doing independent research. The winners each receive a FlowCam instrument to use for up to 4 months, plus remote training, technical support, software licenses, and funding to present at a major scientific conference.

The 2022 FlowCam Aquatic Research Equipment & Travel Grant is now accepting submissions. Learn more about the program and how to apply at the link above.

We’re excited to announce the next-generation FlowCam Nano! The newest member of our FlowCam instrument family detects and images particles between 300 nm and 2 µm—the smallest objects visible by light microscopy.

FlowCam Nano can be used to determine the types of submicron particles present in samples, such as biotherapeutic particles or aggregates, drug delivery vehicles, bacterial cells, and other nanoparticles of interest. If not addressed, many of these smaller particles are prone to agglomeration into larger subvisible and visible particles. FlowCam Nano may be used to identify and mitigate these smaller particles before larger ones will form. Other species like bacterial cells inherently exhibit a size near or below the lower size limit of FlowCam 8000 and will only be detected by FlowCam Nano.

In early January, the Algal Bloom Action Team, a collaboration of water professionals, researchers, and educators from twelve states in the North Central Region of the United States is hosting its 2nd annual Virtual Harmful Algal Bloom Research Symposium. Team members include the national network of Water Resources Research Institutes (WRRI), the North Central Region Water Network, and university extensions within each state in the North Central Region. The free-to-attend symposium will bring together researchers from across the US to present and discuss the latest developments in HAB research and outreach. Presentations will cover four different topics:

• HAB Monitoring and Ecology
• Cyanotoxin Treatment and Detection
• Forecasting and Modeling HABs
• Emerging Technology for Detecting and Monitoring HABs

2021 was a year that brought many changes to all of us. Among the most significant for the FlowCam team was the return to traveling for demonstrations, installations, training & services, and in-person conferences. Given the success of our remote training options, we continue to offer online training via FlowCam University and individual virtual demonstrations and training.  

Pictured at left, Applications Scientist Stephen Barton trains a team of new FlowCam users.

In August, our FlowCam team attended our first in-person drinking water conference since the onset of the pandemic: the Kentucky/Tennessee Water Professionals Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We met drinking water and wastewater professionals from around the region, ranging from small utilities to state agencies.

Pictured right: Savannah Judge presenting on the water quality monitoring program developed by the City of Wichita Falls in Texas