血球計算盤を利用した細胞数の数え方

A hemacytometer is a counting chamber with a laser-etched grid originally designed for counting blood cells. It contains two counting chambers with grids divided into quadrants of varying sizes. The tool allows researchers to count cells under a light microscope and calculate total cell concentration, making it essential for determining cell numbers in biomedical experiments requiring known cell quantities.

The hemacytometer grid consists of 9 major quadrants. The four corner quadrants are subdivided into 16 smaller quadrants each, while the central quadrant contains 25 smaller quadrants, each further divided into 16 micro-quadrants. Each large square has an area of 1 mm² and contains a volume of 0.1 mm³, or 1/10,000th of a milliliter, which is critical for calculating total cell concentration.

Clean the coverslip and counting chamber with ethanol and a kimwipe to remove lint, fingerprints, and watermarks. Apply water to the coverslip mounting supports to hold the coverslip in place using surface tension. Gently triturate the cell suspension by pipetting up and down to dislodge cell clumps, then aspirate approximately 10 microliters and load it into an introduction port where capillary action draws the solution across the grid.

Select quadrant size according to cell density: for low cell numbers, count all cells in one corner quadrant; for medium density, use one of the 16 smaller quadrants; for high density, count cells in one of the 25 central quadrants. Always count at least 20-50 cells per quadrant to ensure accuracy. Count cells touching the top and left lines but disregard those touching bottom or right lines.

Multiply the cell count by 10,000 (since each large square equals 1/10,000th of a milliliter). Apply a multiplication factor based on quadrant size: multiply by 1 for large quadrants, by 16 for corner quadrants, or by 25 for central quadrants. If you diluted the sample, multiply by the dilution factor. Finally, multiply by total sample volume to determine total cell number in your experimental sample.

Trypan blue is a vital stain that distinguishes live from dead cells. Live cells have intact membranes and exclude the dye, appearing bright and golden under phase contrast microscopy. Dead cells lack membrane integrity, allowing trypan blue to enter and stain the cytoplasm blue. Count only live cells and multiply the final count by the trypan blue dilution factor to determine viable cell concentration in your sample.

Accurate cell counting ensures reproducible, statistically-relevant data in cell-based assays. Researchers need precise cell numbers when isolating cells from tissue, mixing different cell populations in co-culture experiments, performing immunoassays like ELISPOT, or extracting mRNA from cells. Knowing exact cell quantities allows proper dilution and standardization of experimental conditions across replicates and supports passaging cells cell lines subculturing methods and applications.