Fabrication of a High Throughput Flow Imaging Cytometer for Analysis of Plankton Populations

9711168 Sieracki Bigelow海洋科学实验室将承担仪器开发项目，构建成像流式细胞仪，对3 ~ 1200微米大小的浮游生物进行计数和分类，为生物海洋学和海岸监测提供新的工具。该系统将允许研究人员快速计数，图像和大小的中型和大型浮游生物自动，而不是传统的，实验室密集的方法。可用于海洋研究的商业和实验室流式细胞仪涵盖0.3至100微米的细胞大小范围。这是不够的，因为在海洋和内陆水域中存在许多在100到1000微米范围内的微生物。此外，这些系统不拍摄被测量细胞的图像，留给用户有限的信息。该仪器基于工作样机，采用细胞成像、数字图像处理、荧光和散射光监测来分析上述尺寸范围内的海洋颗粒。该系统将提高原型机的灵敏度和荧光和散射光触发，已经证明了便携式荧光触发成像系统的实用性。该仪器计划用于若干研究，包括大型浮游植物放牧和毒性、有害藻类监测、沿海监测和海洋球石分布。

9711168 Sieracki The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will undertake an instrument development project to construct an imaging flow cytometer that can enumerate and classify plankton in the size range of 3 to 1200 micrometers and provide a new tool for biological oceanography and coastal monitoring. This system will allow researchers to rapidly count, image and size medium and large plankton automatically, instead of with conventional, laboratory intensive methods. Commercial and laboratory flow cytometers available for marine research cover the range of cell sizes from 0.3 to 100 micrometers. This is not sufficient since there are many microbial organisms in the 100 to 1000 micrometer range present in marine and inland waters. Furthermore, these systems do not take images of the measured cells, leaving the user with limited information. The instrument proposed is based on a working prototype and employs cell imaging, digital image processing and fluorescence and scattered light monitoring to analyze marine particles in the size range mentioned above. The proposed system will improve the sensitivity and fluorescence and scattered light triggering of the prototype which has already proven the usefulness of a portable fluorescence triggered imaging system. The instrument is planned for use in several studies, including large phytoplankton grazing and toxicity, harmful algae monitoring, coastal monitoring and the distribution of marine coccoliths.