Cell Counters / Colony Counters

Cell and Colony Counters: Counting Made Easy

Cell counters and colony counters are machines used to automatically count the number of cells or colonies present in a sample. Cell counters are capable of determining the number of cells, whether they are viable, and analyzing the cell width distribution.

Colony counters count the number of colonies of microorganisms that have grown on an agar plate prepared from a sample. The colony counters can use fluorescent labels or the contrast between light and dark areas on the plates to make their count.

Applications for Cell and Colony Counters

Both cell counters and colony counters are used in various research laboratories, including:

Life sciences, cell and molecular biology
Pharmaceutical research
Environmental testing
Academic laboratories, and more.

Considerations for purchasing a cell counter or colony counting system

With either type of counter, you want to consider how many samples can be done at one time, the sizes of the sample containers that can be used, and whether labels and/or dyes can be added by the counter automatically or must be done by hand. For cell counters, there are some machines that label the nucleus, so the cell will be counted no matter its size or if it has an intact cell membrane.