Monodisperse fluorine-containing synthetic polymer particles having a defined refractive index for use as standards and calibrators in flow cytometry

The present invention relates to products and methods used in flow cytometry instrumentation for the analysis of biological particles or cells. More particularly, the invention relates to synthetic polymer materials and methods for standardizing or calibrating flow cytometry instruments prior to using the instruments for analyzing such particles, for example, the cellular components of whole blood. The invention describes novel methods for calibrating or standardizing flow cytometry instruments using synthetic polymer particles or beads having physical properties which provide advantages for their use in such instruments. The polymer particles or beads employed in the calibration methods are spherical, have an average particle diameter of from about 1 to about 8 microns, a relatively narrow particle distribution, and a low refractive index, i.e., from about 1.35 to about 1.45. The particles are safe, stable for long time periods and are particularly suitable for employment as hematology analyzer calibration substances. The invention provides an advantageous improvement over the types of standards currently used to calibrate a variety of instruments that rely on light scatter combined with other parameters to identify and measure biological particles or cells, as well as nonbiological particles. In particular, using the calibration/standardization method and polymer particles according to the present invention allows hematology instruments to be calibrated and standardized for subsequent accurate and reliable determinations of red blood cells, reticulocytes, white blood cells and platelets in whole blood samples.