Improved flow cytometer scatter sensitivity

The purpose of this study is to systematically evaluate adaptations to the optical configuration and fluidics of a common flow cytometer (FACSCanto, Becton Dickinson (BD), Franklin Lakes, NJ), and show the resulting effects on the forward (FSC), side (SSC) scatter and phycoerythrin (PE) fluorescence sensitivity. The aim is to enable detection of scatter signals from 100 nm EVs on both the FSC and SSC detector.
Conclusion:
The SNR improved a total of 3.8∙104-fold on FSC and 30-fold on SSC. As a result, the estimated detection limits for EVs (assuming refractive index 1.40) went from 1,220 nm on FSC and 180 nm on SSC, to 250 nm on FSC and 90 nm on SSC. Another ~50 fold improvement on FSC is still necessary to detect 100 nm EVs.