Abstract

Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) in the field of stem cell biology has become an indispensable tool for defining and separating rare cell populations with a high degree of purity. Steady progress has been made in this regard, but the intrinsic lability of the stem cell phenotype presents a different challenge and there are many technical caveats. FACS remains, however, the technology of choice for reporting and characterizing rare cell populations such as stem cells.

Keywords: FACS, flow cytometry, cell sorting, stem cell, neural stem cell, progenitor cell, hematopoesis, neuropoesis