Under the CQM+ operation, CQM acquired and installed its first flow cytometer this week. This equipment is the first in the Region fully dedicated to research in the fields of Health and Biochemistry.

 The CQM+ operation is financed by Programa Madeira 14-20 (ARDITI - M1420-01-0145-FEDER-000005 - CQM+ - Centro de Química da Madeira), and it enabled CQM, an FCT unit, to acquired and install a flow cytometer (ACEA BIOSCIENCE, NovoCyte 3000). This new equipment required an investment of approximately € 98,000 with the aim of strengthening the installed capacity of CQM and the activities included in the different projects that make up the CQM+ operation. This equipment is the first in the Region that is fully dedicated to research in the fields of Health and Biochemistry. The NovoCyte 3000 has 3 lasers (405 nm, 488 nm, 640 nm) and 13 channels of fluorescence detection and will be at the service of CQM researchers and the CQM+ operation for the study of anticancer and anti-infective compounds under development in this national research unit.

Flow cytometry is a technique used to count, examine and classify microscopic particles, such as cells. This technique and the equipment now installed allow the simultaneous analysis of several parameters, making it possible to analyze the physical and/or chemical characteristics (e.g. size, morphological complexity, fluorescence, among others) of several cells in each second and in real time. This technique is widely used in onco-hematologic diagnosis (e.g. neoplastic cell detection, cell cycle analysis), for cell proliferation studies and quantification of stem cells.

During the installation process, Dr. Sandra Cuní-Vallduriola, product manager at Izasa Scientific, gave a training lecture and a practical seminar to researchers on the use and functionalities of the equipment now acquired by CQM.