Articles on flow cytometry were by far our most popular content in 2019, with our troubleshooting guides on staining issues and flow cytometry sample prep viewed thousands of times by readers looking to figure out what’s wrong with their flow cytometry experiments.
Tutorials on sample prep mistakes to avoid and how to set up a multicolor flow cytometry panel were also popular, likely with our more proactive audience members who want to know best practices before they get started on their experiments.
In addition, a review of flow cytometry and cell sorting that succinctly made clear the differences (flow cytometry can be seen as an analytical endpoint, whereas sorting is a starting point for sample preparation) as well as explained the benefits of more powerful flow cytometry and cell sorting instrumentation was a valuable resource for many.
Overall, many of our most popular articles offered expert tips for successful experimentation or guidance on choosing between techniques/technologies. CRISPR was the most popular topic of these articles after flow cytometry.
An infographic on choosing the right CRISPR screening method explained the difference between pooled and arrayed libraries and identified the types of CRISPR screening most suitable for a wide range of applications, including identifying novel biomarkers and validating hits from a KO screen.
An article posted in April looked at the benefits that CRISPR-Cas9 offers over RNAi for functional genomic screening and explained many of the reasons that CRISPR-Cas9 has replaced RNAi as the go-to FGS tool.
Almost as popular was a July article on CRISPRi and CRISPRa that discussed their respective benefits and what the additional CRISPR functionality brings to functional genomic screening.
In January, we kicked off a year of functional genomic screening coverage with a brief history of FGS that looked at its origins, the changes brought about by CRISPR, and, most importantly, what to expect in the future.
Other popular tip-related articles focused on making assay development easier, choosing between monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, finding the right camera for your microscope, cryopreservation solutions and methods, upstream processing of tissue samples for IHC, and improving NGS sample prep.
Articles that provided updates on rapidly evolving technologies and processes have long been popular with Biocompare readers, and 2019 was no exception. The most popular articles in this category included phenotypic screening, a technology making a comeback after disappointing early days, optimizing workflows for compound management, and updates to Western blot, a lab staple for many of our readers.
Rounding out our most popular 2019 content were articles that looked at challenges around an emerging technology with tremendous potential (Detecting and Decoding Exosomes) and issues associated with combatting a tenacious contaminant (Mycoplasma: The Stealthy Lab Invader).