APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING HIGH PURITY X-CHROMOSOME BEARING AND/OR Y-CHROMOSOME BEARING POPULATIONS OF SPERMATOZOA

摘要

A flow cytometer apparatus and method for differentiating X-chromosome bearing sperm and Y-chromosome bearing sperm having differing amounts of a light emission material coupled to nuclear their DNA. The apparatus may include an irradiation source which generates an irradiation beam responsive to the light emission material coupled to stained sperm cells, optics to focus the irradiation beam to a beam pattern having a height about equal to the length of said sperm cells along the longitudinal axis to about three times the length of said sperm cells along the longitudinal axis, and a detector responsive to said light emitted from said light emission material in response to the irradiation beam. The method may include the steps of establishing a fluid stream, producing an irradiation beam directed at the fluid stream, shaping the irradiation beam to have a beam height between about equal to the length of said sperm cells along the longitudinal axis and about three times the length of said sperm cells along the longitudinal axis at the fluid stream, and detecting emissions from sperm cells passing through the beam pattern.