Thakur SD, et al. - As conventional adherence assays are often time consuming to perform and prone to observer bias, researchers developed a flow cytometry based method, using the cell-permeable fluorescent dye 5′-carboxyfluoroscein succidyl ester (CFSE), to dramatically increase the number of adherent N. gonorrhoeae quantified per assay while improving repeatability and removing observer bias. Outcomes suggest flow cytometric analysis allowed quick, easy and high-throughput quantification of the association of N. gonorrhoeae with ME-180 cells. Further, the analysis was functionally confirmed using PCR analysis. For in vitro and in vivo adherence studies related to gonococcal pathogenesis, these approaches may be adapted.