Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital 
              McGill University 
              
              
                                               CBIG-03-001 
                                                        
                           DIFFERENT METHODS TO COUNT CELLS 
              
              
                 Version:  1.0                           Supersedes:  NA 
                Category:  Equipment                    Effective date:  18-Jun-2020 
              
          Prepared By:    Marie-Noëlle Boivin          Research Assistant 
          Reviewed By:  Mahdieh Tabatabaei Shafiei  Research Assistant 
                          Sonia Lai Wing Sun           Operations Manager 
          Approved By:  Jason Karamchandani, MD         
                          Scientific Director 
              
              
              
              
                                        
                                                                                                      CBIG-03-001 v1.0 
                                                                                      Different methods to count cells 
                                                                                                                              
                                  
                                                      TABLE OF CONTENTS 
                           Revision History .................................................................................................. 3 
                           Scope and Application ........................................................................................ 3 
                           Reference to Other SOP or Documents ............................................................. 3 
                    3.1 Reference to Other C-BIG SOPs or Documents .................................................... 3 
                    3.2 Reference to External SOPs or Documents ........................................................... 3 
                           Personnel Qualification and Responsibilities ...................................................... 4 
                           Abbreviations and Definitions ............................................................................. 4 
                           Materials and Equipment .................................................................................... 4 
                           Procedures ......................................................................................................... 5 
                    7.1 Counting cells using a hemacytometer .................................................................. 6 
                    7.2 Counting cells using a Beckman Z1 particle counter ............................................. 7 
                    7.3 Counting cells with a Countess II FL ...................................................................... 9 
                    7.4 Trypan blue exclusion test of cell viability ............................................................ 10 
                           Quality Control / Quality Assurance .................................................................. 11 
                           Appendices/Forms ............................................................................................ 11 
                  
                                                    
                                                                                                 
                   Montreal Neurological Institute/Hospital, McGill University          Phone: 514-398-8439 
                   3801 University Street, Suite NWB132/140/150                         Email: cbig.mni@mcgill.ca 
                   Montreal (QC), Canada, H3A 2B4                                       Website: www.mcgill.ca/c-bigneuro/ 
                  
                 Property of Neuro C-BIG Repository                                                              Page 2 of 11 
                                                                                                      CBIG-03-001 v1.0 
                                                                                      Different methods to count cells 
                                                                                                                              
                                  
                      REVISION HISTORY 
                   Version             Summary of revisions                                                Effective Date 
                   1.0                 Initial                                                             18-Jun-2020 
                  
                      SCOPE AND APPLICATION 
                 This protocol describes various methods for counting cells. 
                  
                      REFERENCE TO OTHER SOP OR DOCUMENTS  
                 When adopting this SOP for local use, please reference C-BIG Repository: CBIG-03-001 
                 Different Methods to Count Cells.  
                  
                      3.1 Reference to Other C-BIG SOPs or Documents  
                 NA 
                      3.2 Reference to External SOPs or Documents 
                      1.  Experimental Therapeutics Program, SOP ETP-P-0007 Counting cells 
                      2.  Beckman Coulter, Instruction manual of Beckman Coulter Z series (January 1997) 
                      3.  Thermofisher Scientific, Countess II FL automated cell counter user guide (June 
                          2019) 
                  
                                                                                                 
                   Montreal Neurological Institute/Hospital, McGill University          Phone: 514-398-8439 
                   3801 University Street, Suite NWB132/140/150                         Email: cbig.mni@mcgill.ca 
                   Montreal (QC), Canada, H3A 2B4                                       Website: www.mcgill.ca/c-bigneuro/ 
                  
                 Property of Neuro C-BIG Repository                                                              Page 3 of 11 
                                                                                                      CBIG-03-001 v1.0 
                                                                                      Different methods to count cells 
                                                                                                                              
                                  
                      PERSONNEL QUALIFICATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES 
                 To be read by all personnel who count cells.  All personnel who read this SOP should 
                 sign the form found in the reading log binder. 
                  
                      ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS 
                   Abbreviation  Definition 
                   C-BIG              Clinical Biological Imaging and Genetics Repository 
                   Min                Minutes 
                   mL                 Milliliters 
                   RT                 Room Temperature 
                   SOP                Standard Operating Procedure 
                   µL                 Microliter 
                   µm                 Micrometer 
                  
                      MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT  
                 NOTE: All disposable items are sterile (gamma-irradiated) unless otherwise specified.  All 
                 equipment, disposables or reagents can be substituted with equivalent materials following 
                 evaluations and approval, unless specified otherwise. 
                  
                 NOTE: All sample contact materials must be suitable for RNA work (i.e., RNAse-free).  
                 Use  clean  gloves  at  all  times  to  prevent  inadvertent  RNAse  contamination  during 
                 processing.   
                                                                                                 
                   Montreal Neurological Institute/Hospital, McGill University          Phone: 514-398-8439 
                   3801 University Street, Suite NWB132/140/150                         Email: cbig.mni@mcgill.ca 
                   Montreal (QC), Canada, H3A 2B4                                       Website: www.mcgill.ca/c-bigneuro/ 
                  
                 Property of Neuro C-BIG Repository                                                              Page 4 of 11