A near-universal ultra-cheap fix/perm protocol for flow cytometry
Friday, September 19, 2025 at 5:00PM 
For our flow cytometry peeps, would you like to have a single fix/perm protocol that is optimised for everything? One that preserves fluorophores while allowing simultaneous TF and cytokine staining? How about a protocol that is 100-fold cheaper than your current one?
Over the last 8 years, Oliver Burton has tested >1000 different fix/perm combos, and here the final verdict is: "Burton's Best Buffer": 2% formalin, 0.05% Fairy dish soap, 0.5% Tween-20, 0.1% Triton X-100.
Yep, replace all of those expensive detergents with Fairy dishwashing liquid. It is as good as the BD Foxp3 fix/perm kit for transcription factors, as good as eBio perm for cytokines, preserves even weak endogenous GFP killed by most fix/perm combos, and preserves dye integrity too. Burton's Best Buffer is simply the best fix/perm protocol to use under any condition (except phospho-flow).
Plus it is dirt cheap - one bottle of Fairy (or Dreft, Dawn, Yes, JAR, or whatever they sell it as locally) will literally last your lab for decades.
Take a read of the protocol here.
flow cytometry
Reader Comments (1)
If this buffer really works as broadly as claimed, it could democratize many flow cytometry experiments, especially in labs with tight budgets, making advanced immunology work more accessible. Geometry Dash