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What Sets the BD FACSDiscover™ Flow Cytometers Apart
- BD SpectralFX Technology helps you realize the full potential of spectral flow cytometry by making it easier to build or expand high-parameter panels and resolve dim markers through robust design and a system-aware unmixing algorithm.
- BD CellView™ Image Technology elevates every experiment by adding real-time spatial context and morphological insights (quantitative parameters + images) automatically to spectral depth at flow speed, for cell analysis and sorting.
- Built-in advanced standardization with Next-Gen QC system and FACSTruQ™ Technology delivers data reproducibility and consistency without manual adjustments at default settings – no tradeoffs.
- BD FACSChorus™ Software makes your spectral workflows intuitive and flexible with BD® Spectral Hotspot Matrix and tools to handle multiple autofluorescence optimally and enables seamless assay portability across BD FACSDiscover™ Flow Cytometers.
- Integrated Autoloader enables automation of high-throughput sample loading to complete your plate- or tube-rack-based assays efficiently, while maintaining sample integrity.
Choose the Spectral Flow Cytometer that Matches Your Needs
The BD FACSDiscover™ Platform brings together three instruments – the A7 Cell Analyzer, A8 Cell Analyzer, and the S8 Cell Sorter. They share the same hardware platform, spectral unmixing approach, QC system, and FACSChorus acquisition software. Choose the instrument that fits your science and your throughput; keep your assay logic intact as your work scales.
- BD FACSDiscover™ A7 Cell Analyzer
Best for spectral analysis and standardization without imaging
- BD FACSDiscover™ A8 Cell Analyzer
Best for spectral analysis and real-time image-enabled discovery
- BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter
Best for image-enabled spectral sorting
| Capability |  |  |  |
BD SpectralFX™ Technology | Yes | Yes | Yes |
BD CellView™ Image Technology | No | Yes (and upgradable) | Yes |
BD FACSChorus™ Software | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Integrated Autoloader1 | Yes | Yes | N/A (sorter workflow) |
FACSTruQ™ Technology | Yes | Coming soon2 | Coming soon2 |
Parameters generated from detectors | 60 fluorescence colors, scatter parameters, and 78 imaging parameters3 | 60 fluorescence colors, scatter parameters, and 78 imaging parameters3 | 60 fluorescence colors, scatter parameters, and 78 imaging parameters3 |
Configurations | 3L (V-B-R), 4L (V-B-YG-R), 5L (UV-V-B-YG-R) | 3L V-B-R · 4L V-B-YG-R · 5L UV-V-B-YG-R (with CellView upgradeability) | 3L V-B-R · 4L V-B-YG-R · 5L UV-V-B-YG-R (with CellView) |
- The BD FACSDiscover A8 autoloader is engineered for industry-leading low carryover and low dead volume; performance specifications and supporting data are available on the A8 product page.
- BD FACSTruQ Technology availability on the A8 and S8 is subject to release timing; please contact your BD representative for current availability. BD FACSTruQ is layered on top of the bead-based and LED-pulser-powered QC system; it does not replace the underlying QC workflow.
- Imaging parameters are generated by BD CellView Image Technology and are available on the A8 (CellView-enabled) and S8.
BD FACSDiscover Platform Capabilities and Benefits
BD SpectralFX™ Technology helps you realize the full potential of spectral flow cytometry:
- Build and expand high-parameter panels easily with confidence and without tradeoffs for routine to deep immunophenotyping.
- Resolve dim markers, rare populations, and co-expressions with greater clarity, by minimizing spread.
- Rarely touch a gain – and when you do, your data quality and sensitivity stay intact.
BD CellView™ Image Technology adds spatial context to your flow cytometry experiments
- Unlock biological insights that intensity alone cannot show with spatial and morphological parameters to each event at flow-cytometry speed.
- Analyze and sort cells based on protein localization, internalization, cell-cell interactions, and nuclear translocation with zero additional effort.
- Accelerate drug discovery screening of spatial phenotypes in plate-based (or tube rack) flow cytometry assays.
Built-in advanced standardization delivers effortless data reproducibility at default settings:
- Achieve robust data reproducibility for your longitudinal and multi-site studies at default settings, with the Next Gen QC System only on FACSDiscover platform.
- Rely on FACSTruQ Technology to maintain true data comparability even when experiment conditions and detector settings need to change.
- Achieve standardization effortlessly without any tradeoffs and without any manual calibration or standardization efforts – remove instrument variability.
BD FACSChorus™ Software makes spectral simple – with data you can trust
- Get started quickly with a simple and guided workflow. Spend less time on instrument setup and more time on revealing biology.
- Confidently evaluate your unmixing with built-in tools like the Hotspot Matrix for quick quality check before you begin.
- Optimize your spectral data through extracting one more multiple autofluorescence signatures, comparing unmixing matrices side by side, and selecting the best fit for your experiment.
The Integrated Autoloader delivers automation that protects every sample
- Walkaway with confidence – the fully integrated autoloader runs a wide range of plates and tube racks, so your samples run while you focus on the science.
- Protect every sample from load to acquisition with on-board temperature control, gentle agitation to keep cells suspended and viable, and maximize
- Minimize sample-to-sample contamination with proven ultra-low carryover (<0.1%), so even rare and dim populations are measured cleanly across an entire plate.
FAQs
- What are BD FACSDiscover™ Flow Cytometers?
The BD FACSDiscover™ Platform is a family of three research flow cytometers: The A8 Cell Analyzer, the S8 Cell Sorter, and the A7 Cell Analyzer. They all share BD SpectralFX™ Technology, including Next Gen QC System which enables advanced standardization, and BD FACSChorus™ Software. The A8 and S8 additionally offer BD CellView™ Image Technology, which adds spatial and morphological parameters to each event.
- What differentiates BD SpectralFX™ Technology from other spectral approaches?
BD SpectralFX™ Technology is the only spectral technology in which the hardware optics, the unmixing algorithm, the QC system, the software, and the BD Horizon™ Real Dye reagent portfolio were designed as one integrated system. An onboard LED pulser characterizes every detector during daily QC, and a proprietary, system-aware unmixing algorithm uses that calibration to adapt unmixing to system noise and sample conditions, minimizing spillover spread and delivering more precise dim-marker measurements. Detector gains rarely need to be adjusted – but if needed, individual detectors can be adjusted on the fly without having to worry about impact to data quality or redoing reference controls.
- What does BD CellView™ Image Technology add to a flow experiment?
BD CellView™ Image Technology automatically generates images and quantitative imaging spatial and morphological parameters for every cell acquired alongside the standard spectral and scatter data. This makes it possible to gate or sort on image-derived features (for example, nuclear translocation or cell-cell interactions) without leaving your flow-cytometry workflow. BD CellView™ Image Technology is available on the BD FACSDiscover™ A8 Cell Analyzer (CellView-enabled and upgradeable configurations) and is standard on the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter.
- Which research areas benefit most from the BD FACSDiscover™ Platform?
Researchers have applied the platform across immunology (high-color phenotyping with preserved dim-population resolution), cell biology (translocation, internalization, organelle-level localization), immuno-oncology (rare-cell identification with morphology), and translational/biopharma research where reproducibility across users and sites supports faster, more confident go/no-go decisions. Image-enabled workflows (A8/S8) add value wherever spatial or morphological information would otherwise require microscopy or a second instrument.
- How is the BD FACSDiscover™ A8 Cell Analyzer different from the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter?
The A8 is a cell analyzer (no “cell sorting” capability) with an integrated autoloader, optimized for high-throughput image-enabled analysis. The A8 also offers the flexibility to seamlessly switch between imaging mode and high-speed mode depending on your experiment. The S8 is a sorter that brings the same spectral and BD CellView™ Image Technology capabilities to a sorting workflow without the loader, so cells can be physically isolated based on spectral and image-derived parameters. Choose the A8 if you need image-enabled analysis at scale; choose the S8 if you need to sort on those parameters.
- Can I index imaging data to sort outcomes or well locations?
Yes, index sorting with the BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter correlates flow and imaging features to the exact sort location (e.g., well), supporting downstream genomics or functional assays.
- Can I use BD CellView™ Image Technology for screening applications?
Yes, the BD FACSDiscover™ A8 Cell Analyzer is already used in major pharma and biotech to drive their drug discovery programs that need spatial phenotyping. The Integrated Autoloader supports plate based (or tube-rack) assays for screening applications.
- How does the platform handle doublets?
Beyond standard scatter-based doublet exclusion, the BD CellView™ Technology-enabled instruments A8 and S8 provide morphological parameters along with images that allow doublets to be confirmed. This is particularly useful for sticky cell types, large cells, and cell-cell interaction studies where scatter-based gating alone is ambiguous.
- Can panels and data move between BD FACSDiscover™ Instruments at different sites?
Yes. Panel templates and experiment definitions can be shared across sites, which is particularly relevant for research collaborations, multi-site studies and CRO/sponsor workflows. For teams that want a shared cloud-based panel and template library, BD® Research Cloud would be perfect.
- How does the platform support reproducibility at default settings?
The QC system and FACSTruQ™ Technology on BD FACSDiscover™ instruments is powered by both bead-based QC and an onboard LED pulser, which together calibrate detectors and characterize the system before each run. That foundation, combined with BD SpectralFX™ Technology system-aware unmixing algorithm delivers reproducible results at default settings, across users, instruments, and sites. Critically, this reproducibility does not require you to sacrifice sensitivity or panel design flexibility.
- I have a conventional cytometer. What changes can I expect to see in my workflow when moving to the spectral BD FACSDicover™ Platform?
You can easily transfer your existing panels from conventional cytometer to FACSDiscover™ Plaftform without having to redesign your panels. In most cases, you can use your existing panel as backbone and add markers of interest while potentially improving the resolution. You can get up to speed with the acquisition software within 1-2 runs. Our Expert Applications and Scientific Support Teams will help you every step of the way and advise on instruments, reagents, software, and service.
- I only run smaller-color panels today. Is the platform still worth it for me?
Yes. Smaller panels could benefit from the same default-settings reproducibility, the same easier gain-adjustment workflow, the same Chorus data quality tools (Hotspot matrix, All-by-N, Multiple Autofluorescence). With A8 and S8, the option to layer BD CellView™ Image Technology on top of a modest panel turns a routine flow assay into a spatial-biology assay without changing the instrument. The platform also leaves headroom for the panel to grow.
- If I start on the BD FACSDiscover™ A7, can I move to the A8 or S8 later without losing my work?
Yes. The A7, A8, and S8 share BD SpectralFX™ Technology, the same QC system that enables advanced standardization, and BD FACSChorus™ Software, so panels designed and validated on one instrument are portable to the others, while retaining data consistency.
- Can I use BD FACSDiscover™ Platform for small particle detection or Extracellular Vesicles (EV) research?
Yes. The instruments can be reliably used for small particle detection EV research. Please refer to the technical specifications for the specific particle size limits of detection.
- Is the BD FACSDiscover™ Platform RUO?
Yes. BD FACSDiscover™ Instruments are for Research Use Only and are not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
- We're a CRO/biopharma — how does the platform fit our compliance environment?
The platform is RUO, and many CRO and biopharma customers operate it within their own validated and SOP-controlled workflows. FACSTruQ™ Technology helps ensure data reproducibility and comparability across sites even when experiment conditions change, de-risking drug development programs
- How does the platform work with analysis software?
The FCS files generated on the BD FACSDiscover™ Platform open natively in FlowJo™ Software and are compatible with other standard FCS-reading tools.
- What training and onboarding are included?
Every install includes operator training, panel design support, and access to BD application scientists for experiment review. Facility-level onboarding is available for shared resources and core labs. Please consult your representative.
- What does the service and support model look like?
BD offers service plans across the BD FACSDiscover™ Family that include enhanced warranty, preventive maintenance, parts, software updates, and remote diagnostics. Plans are available in tiers. Your Waters Biosciences representative can scope a plan that is aligned to your uptime requirements.
- How do I get in touch to learn more?
Use the form on this page to request a demo, contact sales, or ask an application question. A Waters Biosciences specialist will respond with options scoped to your science and your environment.
BD Flow Cytometers are Class I Laser Products. For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.