Our products

Why researchers work with us

Panel design before you book

We review your experimental goals before scheduling instrument time. If your panel has a compensation problem or a marker conflict, we flag it before you spend a day at the bench.

Instrument calibration logged daily

Every morning, before the first sample runs, we run a full QC cycle with CS&T beads and log the results. You receive the calibration report alongside your data file.

Gating strategy agreed in advance

We do not hand you a raw FCS file and leave you to it. We agree the gating hierarchy with you before acquisition, so the analysis reflects your biology, not our defaults.

Small batch runs accepted

We do not require a minimum of 48 samples to make a run worthwhile. If you have six samples and a tight deadline, we will schedule them.

News & Announcements

2026-06-18

How to Design a Multi-Colour Flow Cytometry Panel

Panel design is where most flow cytometry experiments succeed or fail, and it happens before you ever touch an instrument. Choosing the wrong fluorochrome for a low-density antigen, or pairing two tandem dyes that bleed heavily into each other, can produce data that looks plausible but does not reflect the biology. This guide covers the decisions that matter most, in the order you should make them.

What Is a Compensation Matrix and Why Does It Matter

Compensation is one of those concepts that researchers often accept without fully understanding, which is fine until something goes wrong. When a compensation error produces a population that appears to shift with a marker it should not correlate with, the source of the problem is not always obvious. This article explains what compensation does, how the matrix is calculated, and what the most common errors look like in practice.

Preparing Sorted Cells for RNA Sequencing and Proteomics

Cell sorting produces a purified population, but what happens in the hour after the sort often determines whether the downstream experiment works. RNA degrades quickly. Proteins can be modified by collection buffer components. The decisions made at the point of collection, about buffer composition, tube coating, temperature, and timing, matter as much as the sort itself. This article covers the practical steps for the most common downstream applications.

Who you are buying from

Dr. Marcus Hale

Founder, Established since 2019

Dr. Marcus Hale spent eight years as a senior flow cytometry analyst at the Whitmore Institute of Biomedical Research before founding Nex Lab Flow Zone in 2019. He trained under Dr. Marcus Hale, whose meticulous approach to panel design and gating strategy still shapes how the lab runs today. Before that, he spent two years calibrating microfluidic systems for a contract research organisation in Cambridge, which is where he first noticed how many smaller research teams were being priced out of reliable flow analysis. He opened Nex Lab Flow Zone specifically to close that gap. Outside the lab, he keeps a small vegetable plot and plays chess on Tuesday evenings with a group that has met in the same room since 2011.

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FAQ

Common questions

Do I need to bring my own antibodies and reagents?

You can bring your own, or we can source them for you at cost. If you are bringing your own antibodies, please send us the clone, fluorochrome, and lot number at least 48 hours before your session so we can check for known spectral issues with our instrument configuration.

How long does a typical flow cytometry run take?

A standard immunophenotyping panel of 8-12 markers across 20-30 samples usually takes three to four hours including setup, acquisition, and a basic QC check. Larger panels or cell sorting sessions run longer. We give you a time estimate when we confirm the booking.

Can you handle samples that require BSL-2 containment?

Yes. Our facility is rated for BSL-2 work. Please declare the containment level when you submit your booking request so we can schedule appropriately and ensure the correct PPE and decontamination protocols are in place.

What file formats do you deliver data in?

Standard delivery is FCS 3.1 alongside a gated PDF summary and a written gating rationale document. We can also export compensated CSV files or a FlowJo workspace. Let us know your preference at the time of booking.

Flow analysis, done with precision.