Cell sorting is a very powerful feature of flow cytometry. The ability to use multiparameter analysis to provide the criteria for sorting allows exquisite selection of cell populations for enrichment. Modern commercial cell sorters are able to sort cells at speeds exceeding 20,000 per second with purities of over 99%. In addition to cells, organelles and in particular chromosomes are also readily purified, flow sorted chromosomes providing the raw material for DNA libraries and chromosome paints.
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The above figure shows the basic operation of a flow cytometer/cell sorter. The flow cytometer is really a microscope whereby cells (rather than sitting on a glass slide) are shot through a light source (typically a laser beam) within a liquid stream and optical sensors (rather than the human eye) are used to record/measure cell properties. Some flow cytometers also contain a cell sorting module, based on ink jet technology similar to what is found in ink jet printers for personal computers, that allows single cells to be isolated on the basis of multiple properties measured upstream by the flow cytometer. Most flow cytometer/cell sorters analyze at rates of 1000 - 10,000 cells per second, but some high-speed flow cytometer/cell sorters now operate at rates of more than 100,000 cells per second.
Cytometry Applications 
