Optical engine for flow cytometer, flow cytometer system and methods of use

1. An optical engine for use in a bench top flow cytometer, the optical engine comprising:

a) a set of lasers, each tuned to a wavelength suited for excitation of fluorescent molecules;

b) a different set of beam shaping optics for each laser, wherein each set comprises two lenses, wherein a first lens adjustably focuses a beam horizontally along an x-axis to a same horizontal position and a second lens vertically adjusts the beam along a y-axis to a different vertical position along a same plane, wherein the plane is characterized as a flow path through a flow cell of the flow cytometer;

c) collection optics for collecting fluorescence from the flow cell;

d) filtration optics that filter the collected fluorescence from the flow cell into different filter channels according to wavelength ranges; and

e) a detector for each filter channel that converts the filtered fluorescence to electrical signals, wherein electrical signals are processed so that the fluorescence from each laser at the different vertical positions is distinguished at the same detector.

2. The optical engine according to claim 1 , wherein the set of lasers comprises three lasers, each tuned to a different wavelength and directed to a different vertical position of the plane thereby providing three distinct vertical positions along the flow cell.

3. The optical engine according to claim 2 , wherein the vertical positions are separated by 80 μm.

4. The optical engine according to claim 2 , comprising 13 fluorescence channels from a single sample passing through the flow cell.

5. The optical engine according to claim 1 , wherein the set of beam shaping optics comprise a cylindrical lens or a Powell lens.

6. The optical engine according to claim 1 , wherein the collection optics comprise a half ball lens followed by a doublet lens.

7. The optical engine according to claim 1 , wherein the filtration optics comprise a component selected from the group consisting of a dichroic mirror, a bandpass filter, and a focusing lens.

8. The optical engine according to claim 1 , where the filter channels comprise the following wavelengths: 780/60 nm, 615/24 nm, 530/30 nm, 445/45 nm, 585/40 or 572/28 nm and 675/30 nm.

9. The optical engine according to claim 1 , further comprising a forward scatter (FSC) detector, a FSC focusing lens, and an obscuration bar.

10. The optical engine according to claim 9 , wherein the obscuration bar is diamond shaped or has a rectangular shape with its horizontal dimension being the same as or larger than its vertical dimension.

11. The optical engine according to claim 9 , wherein the perimeter of the obscuration bar follows a contour of a light intensity distribution plot, optionally within the 0.1% contour line.

12. The optical engine according to claim 11 , wherein the obscuration bar blocks 99% of unscattered light from detection by the FSC detector.

13. The optical engine according to claim 1 , further comprising a housing configured to house optical engine components, the optical engine components comprising the set of lasers, the beam shaping optics, the collection optics, the filtration optics, and the detectors, wherein a same housing is configured for interchangeability of different lasers, lenses, mirrors, filters, and detectors.

14. The optical engine according to claim 1 , further comprising the flow cell.

15. The optical engine according to claim 1 , wherein distinguishing the fluorescence at the same detector from different lasers at the different vertical positions is achieved through either a forward-scatter-coincidence method or a laser-modulation and fluorescence-demodulation method, or combination of both methods.

16. An optical engine for use in a bench top flow cytometer, the optical engine comprising:

a) a set of lasers, each tuned to a wavelength suited for excitation of fluorescent molecules;

b) a different set of beam shaping optics for each laser, wherein each set comprises two lenses to adjustably focus a beam horizontally along an x-axis to a same horizontal position and vertically along a y-axis to a different vertical position along a same plane, wherein the plane is characterized as a flow path through a flow cell of the flow cytometer;

c) collection optics for collecting fluorescence from the flow cell, wherein the collection optics comprise a half ball lens followed by a doublet lens;

d) filtration optics that filter the collected fluorescence from the flow cell into different filter channels according to wavelength ranges; and

e) a detector for each filter channel that converts the filtered fluorescence to electrical signals, wherein electrical signals are processed so that the fluorescence from each laser at the different vertical positions is distinguished at the same detector.

17. The optical engine according to claim 16 , wherein the set of lasers comprises three lasers, each tuned to a different wavelength and directed to a different vertical position of the plane thereby providing three distinct vertical positions along the flow cell.

18. The optical engine according to claim 16 , further comprising a forward scatter (FSC) detector, a FSC focusing lens, and an obscuration bar.

19. The optical engine according to claim 18 , wherein the perimeter of the obscuration bar follows a contour of a light intensity distribution plot, optionally within the 0.1% contour line.

20. The optical engine according to claim 16 , wherein distinguishing the fluorescence at the same detector from different lasers at the different vertical positions is achieved through either a forward-scatter-coincidence method or a laser-modulation and fluorescence-demodulation method, or combination of both methods.