Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting Diagram

All 10 parts on the diagram

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Lining the cells up 5

Laser Its beam lights each cell as it passes.
Nozzle The stream of cells leaves through its narrow tip.
Detectors They measure the scattered light and the fluorescence of each cell.
Sample The mixed cells to be sorted, in liquid.
Sheath fluid It surrounds the sample and lines the cells up in single file.

Sorting the drops 5

Deflection plates Two charged plates that pull charged droplets to one side.
Collection tubes They catch the sorted cells, one kind in each.
Charged droplets Each carries a wanted cell and an electric charge.
Break-off point Where the stream breaks up into separate droplets.
Waste Uncharged droplets fall straight into it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, Flow cytometry (section Cell sorting by flow cytometry) and Cell sorting (section Fluorescence activated), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_cytometry and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_sorting : the sample injected into a stream of sheath fluid, single file through the light beam, the laser, detectors for scattered light and fluorescence, the vibrating nozzle, where the stream breaks up into droplets (breakoff point), charged droplets, two deflection plates, collection tubes below the plates. Counted once. (2) Current Protocols, Evaluation of Sort Recovery via Rmax (2024, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13014063 : sample and sheath lines, nozzle, single-file procession by hydrodynamic forces, focused laser beams with measurements of scatter and fluorescence, detector, breakoff point, piezo vibration that generates the droplets, deflection plates, collection tubes, the waste (center) stream. (3) Journal of Visualized Experiments, Purification of Specific Cell Population by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (2010, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC3144656 : a stream of droplets in front of a laser, a charge applied to the droplet that holds a cell of interest, the electrostatic deflection system, charged droplets, collection tubes, nozzle, detectors, deflection plates. (4) Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Single-cell cloning and its approaches (2025, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12738947 : cells in sheath fluid cross a laser beam, charged droplets, deflection plates, a waste container. (5) Methods, Rmax: a systematic approach to evaluate instrument sort performance using center stream catch (2015, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC4503806 : the break-off point of the jet, spelled with a hyphen as the label is (the first two sources write breakoff point), a nozzle coupled to a piezo crystal, the waste stream, the collection tube. Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A fluorescence activated cell sorting diagram follows cells down a cell sorter. The machine reads each cell with a laser, then steers the wanted ones into tubes inside charged droplets.

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Reading each cell

The sample holds the mixed cells, tagged with fluorescent labels. Sheath fluid surrounds it in the nozzle and lines the cells up in single file. Each cell crosses the laser, and the detectors measure its scattered light and its fluorescence.

Sorting the drops

The nozzle vibrates, so the stream breaks into droplets at the break-off point. A droplet that holds a wanted cell is given a charge. The deflection plates pull charged droplets to one side, into the collection tubes. The rest fall into the waste.

Questions and answers

How does fluorescence-activated cell sorting work?

Cells with fluorescent labels pass one at a time through a laser, and detectors read each one. The stream then breaks into droplets. Droplets that hold a wanted cell are charged, and charged plates steer them into collection tubes.

What does the sheath fluid do in a cell sorter?

It flows round the sample inside the nozzle. The sample stays as a thin core in the middle, so the cells line up and pass through the laser beam in single file.

What do the deflection plates do?

They make an electric field across the path of the falling droplets. A charged droplet is pulled to one side and lands in a collection tube. An uncharged droplet falls straight down to the waste.

What is the difference between a flow cytometer and a cell sorter?

A flow cytometer that only analyzes measures the cells and gives data. A cell sorter also has a collection system: it separates the cells it has measured, so one kind can be kept and studied.