FCS Express provides a number of tools that allow you to create and graph your own data sets. Your data sets (called custom datasets) can contain data from many sources including, but not limited to, tokens such as keyword, statistics, custom tokens, and token classifiers. The advantage of creating a custom data set containing tokens is that when your layout changes (e.g., by making a gate or displaying a new set of data) your custom data set will change as well. The use of a custom data set allows you to easily demonstrate the important results from your experiments using a data table or by graphing the results using a bar chart  or scatter plot. In this tutorial, we will focus on creating and using custom data sets.

We will create a custom dataset to aid in the analysis of an HLA cross-match experiment. Flow cytometry is frequently used to predict how much soluble IgG, from a potential recipient's serum, will bind to the cells of an engrafted organ. The assumption is that most of the IgG binding is directed against the HLA molecules on the donor cells. A negative cross-match means that the soluble IgG in the potential recipient's serum did not bind to a significant number of lymphocytes from the donor cells. This negative cross-match correlates with an improved graft survival. Specifically, we will examine the T- and B-cells from the donor to determine the amount of IgG binding from the potential recipient using an anti-human FITC labeled IgG.

In the course of this example, we will:

 

First, we will load a layout in preparation for creation of a custom dataset.