The LLNL high-speed sorter: design features, operational characteristics, and biological utility.

This report describes a dual-beam, high-speed sorter (HiSS) with a droplet production rate of 220,000 s-1 now in routine use at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The system can process and sort objects at rates in excess of 20,000 s-1. We report here on the development of HiSS, describe its operational characteristics, and evaluate its utility for analysis and purification of human chromosomes, human erythrocytes, and living Chinese hamster ovary cells.