Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:31 pm by mleipold
Hi Maya,
In my experience, different cell counters give slightly different numbers for the same sample. For example, using the default settings on our Vicell vs TC20, the TC20 seems to give slightly higher cell counts as a general rule. This seems to come down to how each of the counters counts: the Vicell has circularity and another couple parameters in addition to lower and upper cell diameter cutoffs, whereas the TC20 seems to mainly (just?) have cell diameter cutoffs.
In terms of experimental design, it has been our opinion that *consistency* (precision/reproducibility) for initial plating is more important than absolute accuracy of cell count (assuming there's maybe a 10% difference or less between different methods). Put differently, pick one cell counter method and stick with it for a given application.
So, we use the Vicell when thawing and plating large numbers of samples, since it's something we can set up and walk away from. And then we use the TC20 for the sample-by-sample dilution immediately before running on the CyTOF.
Mike