Excitation-emission matrix flow cytometry systems and uses thereof

A flow cytometry system, comprising:

• a flow channel comprising an inlet, an outlet, and two or more measurement subzones;
• a fluidics module comprising a fluid delivery line to the flow channel inlet and fluid emission line from the flow channel outlet;
• an illumination module comprising two or more light sources and a light source synchronizer comprising a controller and two or more switches, wherein:
• a) each of the light sources emits light of a different wavelength;
• b) each of the light sources is in communication with a measurement subzone located at a different location in the flow channel;
• and
• c) the controller in the light source synchronizer is configured to:
• (i) activate a first light source via a switch, wherein the switch illuminates a measurement subzone, while all other light sources are deactivated;
• (ii) deactivate the light source that illuminates the measurement subzone illuminated in (i) and activate a second light source that illuminates a measurement subzone different than the measurement subzone illuminated in (i) and located closer to the flow channel outlet, while all other light sources are deactivated, and
• (iii) repeat (i) and (ii) until a light source that illuminates a measurement subzone closest to the flow channel outlet is activated and then deactivated, or a light source that illuminates a measurement subzone selected as the terminal measurement subzone is activated and then deactivated, wherein the illumination module is in connection with a gate configured to:
• (a) detect the presence of a particle in a measurement subzone closest to the flow channel inlet, and (b) transmit a signal to the controller in the light source synchronizer to sequentially activate and deactivate light sources;
• a light collector module comprising two collectors in communication with the measurement subzones of the flow channel;
• a detector module comprising a selective optical element and a dispersive optical element;
• and
• a light transmission module connected to the light collector module and the detector module, wherein the light transmission module is configured to combine the light from two collectors and deliver the combined light from the two collectors to the selective optical element and the dispersive optical element.