Cyto·IQ: An adaptive cytometer for extracting the noisy dynamics of molecular interactions in live cells

摘要

We have developed a fundamentally new type of cytometer to track the statistics of dynamic molecular interactions in hundreds of individual live cells within a single experiment. This entirely new high-throughput experimental system, which we have named Cyto·IQ, reports statistical, rather than image-based data for a large cellular population. Like a flow cytometer, Cyto·IQ rapidly measures several fluorescent probes in a large population of cells to yield a reduced statistical model that is matched to the experimental goals set by the user. However, Cyto·IQ moves beyond flow cytometry by tracking multiple probes in individual cells over time. Using adaptive learning algorithms, we process data in real time to maximize the convergence of the statistical model parameter estimators.rnSoftware controlling Cyto·IQ integrates existing open source applications to interface hardware components, process images, and adapt the data acquisition strategy based on previously acquired data. These innovations allow the study of larger populations of cells, and molecular interactions with more complex dynamics, than is possible with traditional microscope-based approaches. Cyto·IQ supports research to characterize the noisy dynamics of molecular interactions controlling biological processes.