Table 1.

Comparison of methods used for quantitative mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) detection

Technique	Detection	Detection limit (cells)	Advantages	Disadvantages	Reference
PCR/histology	MSC specific DNA sequences or antigens	102	High sensitivity, no need to label the cells	Need animal sacrifice, biopsy, or postmortem samples from patients	12, 13
Flow cytometry	Fluorescent dyes/proteins	103	High specificity, quantification of live cells	Preclinical study only	14
Optical imaging	Fluorescent dyes/proteins	103	High throughput, excellent for longitudinal studies	Small animals only, low resolution, low sensitivity	8
MRI	Contrast agents	104	High spatial resolution, whole‐body scanning, clinically useful, excellent for longitudinal studies	Quantification can be difficult, cytotoxicity of certain labeling agents	15
Radionuclear	Radioisotope labels	104	Quantification feasible using SPECT, whole‐body scanning; high sensitivity,	Limited spatial resolution; ionizing radiation	16

Abbreviations: MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.