What is yield and why is it only 75-90%?
Yield is defined as “the {[number of cells in the collection tube] X [the % purity]} /{ [the number of cells you started with] X [% of the target population]}. There are a number of factors that affect the actual yield of the sorted sample: a) electronic aborts – cells which arrive in the laser beam too close to one another; with each electronic abort, more than one cell is thrown away and not processed b) sort conflicts – a target and non-target cell occurring within the same or overlapping sort envelopes; both target and non-target cells are not sorted. c) Loss of target cells due to cell death (pre and post sort) or adherence to tube walls Increasing sample rate (#cells/second analyzed) and the presence of cell aggregates can increase these losses and ultimately reduce your yield.
