Countess II FL Can Count, Can You?

August 09, 2017

Purdue University
CPB
Graduate Student

Overall

Performance

Ease-of-Optimization

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Company:

Invitrogen

Product Name:

Countess II FL

Catalog Number:

AMQAX1000

We were considering an automated cell counting method for use with murine primary cells from spleen, lymph node, and digested intestinal tissues. We might occasionally use with transfected cells or cell cultures, but the bulk of our research is primary cells. Given the large volume of cell counts we perform, we didn't want an instrument that required purchasing consumables routinely, and the Countess II is able to use a glass hemocytometer or disposables.

Experimental Design and Results Summary

Application

Counting splenocytes

Starting Material

Murine splenocytes

Protocol Overview

Following mechanical dissociation and RBC lysis, splenocytes were counted with the glass hemocytometer provided with the Countess II FL. The instrument we used was lent to us as a demo from Fisher Scientific for a week.

Tips

Coverslips scratch easily and scratches can interfere with cell counts.

Results Summary

Generally, the cell counts obtained from splenocytes and lymph nodes were very comparable to manual counts and also reproducible upon sample reruns. The intestinal tissue was much harder to get good counts from, as any debris from the tissue tended to interfere with the counts. We also tried with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and found the counts from those to vary more than we were happy with, likely due to their small size. We did not have a chance to test the fluorescent capabilities other than the provided slide with fluorescent beads; but we were not considering using fluorescence much as we have a flow cytometer readily available.

Features Summary

Multiple fluorescent channels available, adjustable zoom and focus.

DOI or PMID #

N/A

Additional Notes

N/A

Image Gallery

Summary

The Good

Reproducible (sample-dependent), no consumable usage.

The Bad

Not good for some primary cells, scratches in coverglass interfere with counts, doesn't save that much time for cell counting.

The Bottom Line

We're not likely to purchase this after the demo. Overall, the time saved from automating was much less than we were led to believe (we've learned to be fast cell counters), and the benefits (mainly reproducibility) aren't worth the cost of purchasing and implementing this device.

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