Extract text from MACSQuant data files (MQD)
To convert MQD data files to another format, you need MACSQuantify or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Scientific Data" file type, you need software like MACSQuantify or a similar tool.
Most often, an .MQD file is a proprietary data container generated by MACSQuant Analyzers from Miltenyi Biotec. These files store raw flow cytometry data, instrument settings, and compensation matrices from biological experiments.
The main issue with .MQD files is their proprietary nature; they are designed to be analyzed within the specific MACSQuantify software ecosystem. Researchers often find themselves locked out of industry-standard third-party analysis tools like FlowJo or FCS Express because the raw binary data isn't directly compatible. Furthermore, sharing these files with collaborators who don't have a Miltenyi license is frustratingly difficult.
To bridge this gap, the most common workflow is converting the file to the FCS (Flow Cytometry Standard) format, which preserves the scientific fidelity for third-party analysis. For simple statistical review or graphing in Microsoft Excel or GraphPad Prism, converting the dataset to CSV or XLSX is essential.
*Note: A smaller subset of these files may be survey data from legacy HMMole software or plain text JSON logs from the IzzyMaster Platform. If your file opens in a text editor, it is likely the latter.*
Convert.Guru analyzes your MQD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted TST, LCP, SCORE and FCS files.
If you want to convert MQD file to FCS, you can use MACSQuantify or similar software from the "Flow Cytometry Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to MQD, try MACSQuantify or another comparable tool in the "Flow Cytometry Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MQD converter.