RECENT ADVANCES IN FLOW CYTOMETRY: PLATFORMS, TOOLS, AND CHALLENGES FOR DATA ANALYSIS - Flow Cytometry in Drug Discovery and Development - page 31

FIGURE 2.1 Live D. rerio (zebrafish) embryo immobilized in CyGEL Sustain (image
courtesy of Dr. Yolanda Alvarez, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences,
Conway Institute, University College, Dublin). (See the color version of the figure in the Color
Plates section.)

zebrafish embryos with high viability (94.7%). Complementary technologies have
been developed to aid downstream analysis of D. rerio embryos in functional assays
that require immobilization and kinetic imaging. For example, an application-specific
formulation of a thermoreversible hydrogel (CyGel, Biostatus Ltd, UK) has been
used to permit dechorionated embryo analysis by conventional imaging by thermally
driven immobilization and post-analysis recovery. Figure 2.1 shows CyGEL
Sustain immobilization of live anesthetized zebrafish embryos facilitating other

techniques such as tissue-specific microinjections, microsurgery, and HCS

applications.

2.3.2 Ultrasonic Object Focusing

Although the creation of inexpensive, small flow cytometers may be of critical
importance for disease diagnosis in resource-poor areas, the early stages of the
discovery process are less dependent on such innovation. However, it is likely that
there will be increased cell analysis applications in therapeutic monitoring and
selection that will demand increased instrument portability and reduced cost. Alter-
natives to hydrodynamic focusing, primarily to dispense with the burden of sheath
fluid, are being sought with a recent demonstration that acoustic focusing has no effect
on cellular viability in research into volume sensing [53, 54]. In early 2010, Life
Technologies Corporation announced the release of the Attune

Acoustic Focusing
Cytometer, a first of its kind cytometer system that uses acoustic waves to control the