Coulter Volume Cell Sorting to Improve the Precision of Radiation Survival Assays

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Abstract
A new method for measuring cell survival at low doses of ionizing radiation was developed through the use of flow cytometric cell sorting on the basis of Coulter volume signals. The cell sorter is capable of deflecting a precisely known number of cells directly into culture dishes, thus eliminating any errors associated with cell dilution and volume sampling. The use of Coulter volume signals as the sorting parameter is noncytotoxic for a variety of cell lines. [Chinese hamster V-79-171b lung fibroblasts, ovary CHO cells, mouse mammary carcinoma EOTT6/Ro cells, colon 26 cells, human lung carcinoma CCL 2P5 cells, colon carcinoma CCL 226 cells]. Comparison of radiation survival curves measured above the 10% survival level by either the cell sorter or standard dilution assay demonstrates the increased precision of the cell sorter technique. Because of these advantages of cell sorting over conventional methods of plating cells, this technique has many applications in the field of radiation biology and other studies of cell survival.