Cell sorting: Divide and conquer

A key element of performing good cell-biology experiments is starting with exactly the right cells. Michael Eisenstein takes a look at the technologies that can make this possible.SortedThe sophisticated experiments performed by cell biologists today are heavily dependent on cell sorters, logical successors to the classic Coulter counter. First developed in the sixties, cell sorters measure fluorescence and other parameters, then physically separate living cells intact. Cell sorting has probably reached its speed limit, but further refinements and new software will make smaller and more narrowly defined cellular subsets available for the individual attention of experimenters.