Becton Dickinson and Company Limited

James E Bishop

Kenneth A Davis

Barnaby Abrams

Michael D Lock

Sunil S Dalal

Zhenxiang Gong

The present invention provides instruments for analyzing a multiplicity of fluorescent dyes using a multiplicity of amplifying photodetectors, methods for using the instruments, methods for setting the instrument parameters, and methods for resetting the instrument parameters following a changed in photodetector amplification. The present invention is particularly applicable in the field of flow cytometry.

Instrument setup system for a fluorescence analyzer

The inventors herein disclose new heterobifunctional chromophores that are capable of coupling with two distinct moieties. One moiety may be either a signal-enhancing agent or a blocking agent. The second moiety may be one member of a specific binding pair. The invention is based in part on the surprising result that when a chromophore is used as a 'cross-linker' between a signal-enhancing agent and a member of a binding pair (essentially being buried between the two), the signal of the chromophore is not quenched. This arrangement, wherein the chromophore acts simultaneously as a cross-linker and a detectable compound, provides significant advantages over previously known compounds since the chromophore is sterically hindered from interacting non-specifically with substances present in the test systems. Moreover, the chromophore can be used as a cross-linker with little or no loss of detectable signal.

Chromophores useful for the preparation of novel tandem conjugates

A rapid, simple method for preparing beads for calibrating flow cytometers which contain a known number of fluorophores per bead is presented. Briefly, the invention utilizes beads coated with a stable complex of a fluorophore and an enzyme. the enzymatic activity of a known number of beads gives an accurate measure of fluorophore density on those beads.

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Santa Cruz, CA, United States of America

James E Bishop