Hi,
I am a beginner at flow cytometry and I am interested in investigating the effects of various drugs/inhibitors on cell proliferation/growth and apoptosis. Before jumping to flow, I have done MTS assay and western blotting with the same drugs/inhibitors, where I have always used DMSO as control. However, it was pointed out to me that DMSO is not a good control for flow cytometry, and instead I should be using untreated cells as control. I have observed that many papers don't exactly mention whether they have used DMSO or untreated cells as controls, which makes it a bit confusing.
I have decided to go ahead with both DMSO and untreated controls, but I wanted to know what others have used as control? (and the rationale behind using that specific control).
PS: I am doing flow specifically for CCA and apoptosis to study effects of drugs but I am not collecting the cells (may be people who collect cells don't use DMSO?)
Thanks!