BD FACSAria - Conflict Resolution During Sorting

Chapter 2: Theory of Operation 71
The amount and type of charge determines where the drop will be sorted. For
example, in a four-way sort, drops with the most charge will be deflected into the
outer streams, while drops with less charge will be deflected into the inner
streams.
Conflict Resolution During Sorting
During sorting, the cytometer deflects drops based on the characteristics of the
particles in each drop and where the user wants to deflect them. Conflicts can
occur depending on the type of target particle, where the particle is located
within a drop, or whether the drop is free of contaminating particles.
BD FACSDiva software accurately measures particle position to within 1/32 of a
drop.
Mask settings determine how drops are deflected
when sorting conflicts occur. There are three Mask
settings, each of which addresses a different type of
conflict. These settings are combined to define sort
Precision Modes: each mode is made up of a set of
masks. Precision Modes are defined in the Sort
Precision dialog box, accessed from the Sort menu.
Yield Mask
The Yield Mask setting defines how close to the edge of the drop, in 1/32-drop
increments, a particle of interest can be located before sorting an additional drop.
Half of each Yield Mask setting defines an equal area at each end of the drop.
For example, when the Yield Mask is set to 16 and an event is within 8/32 from
the beginning of a drop, the previous (leading) drop will be sorted. If an event is
within 8/32 from the end of a drop, the following (trailing) drop will be sorted.
See Figure 2-17 on page 72.