Editing Flow cytometry (section)

=== Compensation ===
{{main|Compensation (cytometry)}}
Each fluorochrome has a broad fluorescence spectrum. When more than one fluorochrome is used, an overlap between fluorochromes can occur. This situation is called spectrum overlap, and must be corrected. For example, the emission spectrum for FITC and PE is one in which the light emitted by the fluorescein overlaps the same wavelength as it passes through the filter used for PE. This spectral overlap is corrected by removing a portion of the FITC signal from the PE signals or vice versa. This process is called color compensation, which calculates a fluorochrome as a percentage to measure itself.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Roederer M | title = Spectral compensation for flow cytometry: visualization artifacts, limitations, and caveats | journal = Cytometry | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 194–205 | date = November 2001 | pmid = 11746088 | doi = 10.1002/1097-0320(20011101)45:3<194::aid-cyto1163>3.0.co;2-c | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Compensation is the mathematical process by which spectral overlap of multiparameter flow cytometric data is corrected. Since fluorochromes can have wide-ranging spectrum, they can overlap, causing the undesirable result of confusion during the analysis of data. This overlap, known as spillover and quantified in the spillover coefficient, is usually caused by detectors for a certain fluorochrome measuring a significant peak in wavelength from a different fluorochrome. Linear algebra is most often used to make this correction.<ref name=":0" />

In general, when graphs of one or more parameters are displayed, it is to show that the other parameters do not contribute to the distribution shown. Especially when using the parameters which are more than double, this problem is more severe. Currently, no tools have been discovered to efficiently display multidimensional parameters. Compensation is very important to see the distinction between cells.
[[File:Picoplancton cytometrie.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|right|Analysis of a marine sample of [[photosynthesis|photosynthetic]] [[picoplankton]] by flow cytometry showing three different populations (''[[Prochlorococcus]]'', ''[[Synechococcus]]'', and [[picoeukaryote]]s)]]{{cn|date=April 2022}}