The contribution of specific organelles to side scatter

Knowledge of which cellular structures scatter light is needed to fully utilize the information available from light scattering measurements of cells and tissues. To determine how specific organelles contribute to light scattering, wide angle side scattering was imaged simultaneously with fluorescence from specific organelles for thousands of cells using flow cytometry. Images were obtained with different depth of field conditions and analyzed with different assumptions. Both sets of data demonstrated that mitochondria and lysosomes, contribute similarly to side scatter. The nucleus contributes as much or more light scatter than either the mitochondria or the lysosomes.