FUTURE DIRECTIONS - Flow Cytometry in Drug Discovery and Development - page 270

PART IV

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

V IRGINIA L ITWIN AND P HILIP M ARDER

These are exciting times in the field of flow cytometry. The ongoing development of
fluorescent probes and digital instrumentation now allows 8-color analyses on bench-
top models and around 18-color analyses on research models (reviewed in Chapter 2).
At the same time, however, these advances present more challenges. Among them one
would be in developing newways to analyze data since the traditionalmethod (Boolean
gating) does not allow effective mining of large and diverse data sets. The second
challenge would be to how best apply the new capabilities in order to answer basic
research questions and optimize support during drug development.
In Part IV, possible resolutions to these challenges are considered. For example, in
Chapter 14, a new paradigm for data analysis is presented. In Chapter 15, the impor-
tance of multiparametric analysis in evaluating intracellular signaling is explained as
it relates to drug development and, ultimately, patient care. Finally, the chapter
contemplates the evolution of flow cytometry into mass cytometry.

Flow Cytometry in Drug Discovery and Development, Edited by Virginia M. Litwin and Philip Marder
Copyright

2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

279