Total internal reflection fluorescence flow cytometry

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) has been widely used to explore biological events that are close to the cell membrane by illuminating fluorescent molecules using the evanescent wave. However, TIRFM is typically limited to the examination of a low number of cells, and the results do not reveal potential heterogeneity in the cell population. In this report, we develop an analytical tool referred to as total internal reflection fluorescence flow cytometry (TIRF-FC) to examine the region of the cell membrane with a throughput of ∼100-150 cells/s and single cell resolution. We use an elastomeric valve that is partially closed to force flowing cells in contact with the glass surface where the evanescent field resides. We demonstrate that TIRF-FC is able to detect the differences in the subcellular location of an intracellular fluorescent protein. Proper data processing and analysis allows TIRF-FC to be quantitative. With the high throughput, TIRF-FC will be a very useful tool for generating information on cell populations with events and dynamics close to the cell surface.