Section7:Cell Counting Protocols

From Assay Guidance Wiki

Traditionally a cell culture is counted prior to plating the cells or for culturing the cells in flasks, roller bottles, etc. This is to determine the cell number of viable cells. Counting cells consistently is important to the responsiveness of the cells. Counting cells can be done numerous ways. A common way of counting cells is by using a hemacytometer and light microscope. This method can be subjective and is time consuming. There are also several automated methods of counting cells including the Coulter Counter or the Vi-CELL. The basis of the Coulter Counter is detects changes in electrical conductance of a small aperture as fluid containing the cells flows past the detector. The deflection is then detected as a particle or cell. The Vi-CELL is an automated method of counting cells using the trypan blue cell exclusion method.