plant - animal

aquaculture

Aquacultures, maricultures, fish and shrimp farms heavily depend on the quality of the surface water or the supply water. Many cases of water quality deterioration are caused by the presence of certain harmful algal species. The required measurements related to plankton communities can be done through cytometry. The CytoSense (farming) and CytoBuoy (natural waters) systems provides a detailed insight in the distribution of plankton sizes and types, in real time. In addition the CytoSense instruments can also be used for easy counting and sizing of small types of fish eggs (standard flow cell size is 1mm - optional flow cell size is 1.5 x 1.5 mm).

parasitology

CytoSense can be used to analyze various organisms, including parasites. Nematode larvae and juveniles such as P.Penetrans and M.Fallax were analyzed as well as species used in sheep parasitology research. The CytoSense instrument is well capable of measuring those organisms without clogging or other physical problems. The fluid acceleration in the injection system stretches out and aligns the elongated organisms along the flow path. The light scattering and fluorescence signals are digitized during passage of each particle through the laser beam, which represent a length profile of these organisms. Because these nematodes are rather transparant for the laser light, the light scatter signals are predominantly generated by their internal structures. The use of fluorescent staining alows the study of localized phenomena in these organisms. For example the nematode larvae were fed with fluorescently labelled bacteria which shows up as fluorescence from within the nematode when it is analyzed in the flow cytometer.

sperm screening

The scanning data format makes the CytoSense a very efficient instrument for sperm analysis - for instance for fertility monitoring of bull, sheep or swine sperm. The analysis can be done with a single staining step: sperm cell recognition is basing on light scatter data (no fluorescent staining required) and life/dead discrimination using a single staining step. Viz. also the section 'medical'.