Spillover compensation and data transformation for flow cytometry. Covers compensation matrix calculation, application, and biexponential/arcsinh transforms. Use when correcting spectral overlap between fluorophores or transforming data for analysis.
npx skills add https://github.com/BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill bio-flow-cytometry-compensation-transformation
Reference examples tested with: flowCore 2.14+, scanpy 1.10+
Before using code patterns, verify installed versions match. If versions differ:
packageVersion('<pkg>') then ?function_name to verify parametersIf code throws ImportError, AttributeError, or TypeError, introspect the installed
package and adapt the example to match the actual API rather than retrying.
"Compensate and transform my flow cytometry data" → Correct spectral overlap between fluorophores using a compensation matrix and apply biexponential/arcsinh transforms for visualization and analysis.
flowCore::compensate() then flowCore::transform() with estimateLogicle()library(flowCore)
# From FCS file keywords
fcs <- read.FCS('sample.fcs', transformation = FALSE)
comp_matrix <- keyword(fcs)$`$SPILLOVER`
# Or from CSV file
comp_matrix <- as.matrix(read.csv('compensation.csv', row.names = 1))
# Create compensation object
comp <- compensation(comp_matrix)
# Apply to flowFrame
fcs_comp <- compensate(fcs, comp)
# Apply to flowSet
fs_comp <- compensate(fs, comp)
library(flowStats)
# Single-stained controls
controls <- read.flowSet(list.files('controls', pattern = '\\.fcs$', full.names = TRUE))
# Calculate spillover matrix
spillover <- spillover(controls,
unstained = 'Unstained.fcs',
fsc = 'FSC-A', ssc = 'SSC-A',
patt = '-A$', # Channel pattern
stain_match = 'regexpr')
# The result is a list; extract matrix
comp_matrix <- spillover$comp
# Logicle transformation (standard for flow)
library(flowWorkspace)
# Auto-estimate parameters
lgcl <- estimateLogicle(fcs, colnames(fcs)[3:10])
# Apply
fcs_trans <- transform(fcs, lgcl)
# Manual logicle parameters
lgcl_manual <- logicleTransform(
w = 0.5, # Linearization width
t = 262144, # Top of scale
m = 4.5, # Decades of data
a = 0 # Additional negative range
)
# Arcsinh transformation for CyTOF
arcsinh_transform <- function(x, cofactor = 5) {
asinh(x / cofactor)
}
# Apply to expression matrix
expr <- exprs(fcs)
expr_trans <- apply(expr[, marker_channels], 2, arcsinh_transform, cofactor = 5)
# Or using transformList
asinhTrans <- arcsinhTransform(transformationId = 'arcsinh', a = 0, b = 1/5)
trans_list <- transformList(marker_channels, asinhTrans)
fcs_trans <- transform(fcs, trans_list)
# Simple log transformation
logTrans <- logTransform(transformationId = 'log10', logbase = 10, r = 1, d = 1)
trans_list <- transformList(marker_channels, logTrans)
fcs_trans <- transform(fcs, trans_list)
library(ggcyto)
# Before compensation
p1 <- autoplot(fcs, 'FITC-A', 'PE-A') + ggtitle('Before Compensation')
# After compensation
p2 <- autoplot(fcs_comp, 'FITC-A', 'PE-A') + ggtitle('After Compensation')
library(patchwork)
p1 + p2
Goal: Apply a standard compensation-then-transformation workflow to all samples in a flowSet.
Approach: Define a reusable preprocessing function that first applies the spillover compensation matrix, then auto-estimates and applies logicle transformation on marker channels, and map it across all samples with fsApply.
preprocess_flow <- function(fcs, comp_matrix, marker_channels) {
# 1. Compensation
comp <- compensation(comp_matrix)
fcs <- compensate(fcs, comp)
# 2. Transformation (logicle for flow, arcsinh for CyTOF)
lgcl <- estimateLogicle(fcs, marker_channels)
fcs <- transform(fcs, lgcl)
return(fcs)
}
# Apply to flowSet
fs_processed <- fsApply(fs, function(f) {
preprocess_flow(f, comp_matrix, marker_channels)
})
library(CATALYST)
library(SingleCellExperiment)
# Create SingleCellExperiment from flowSet
sce <- prepData(fs,
panel = panel, # data.frame with columns: fcs_colname, antigen, marker_class
md = sample_info, # sample metadata
transform = TRUE, # Apply arcsinh
cofactor = 5,
FACS = FALSE) # TRUE for flow, FALSE for CyTOF
# panel.csv
panel <- data.frame(
fcs_colname = c('Yb176Di', 'Er168Di', 'Nd142Di'),
antigen = c('CD45', 'CD3', 'CD4'),
marker_class = c('type', 'type', 'type') # 'type' for phenotyping, 'state' for functional
)
# Write transformed FCS
write.FCS(fcs_trans, 'sample_preprocessed.fcs')
# Save transformation for reproducibility
saveRDS(list(comp = comp_matrix, transform = lgcl), 'preprocessing_params.rds')
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