Policies and Guidelines

Training

Staff members of the Cytometry Facility teach you how to operate the instruments as well as preparation techniques and methods. Users are allowed to operate the instruments if they gained sufficient knowledge beforehand. The facility staff instruct and decide for each user individually whether the education is appropriate. Guarantee on device performance and / or experiment outcome is not given.
The Cytometry Facility does not currently support unassisted use of Aria II, but the BD LSR Fortessa and Cytoflex LX can be independently operated once user has undergone training. Training sessions for the BD LSR Fortessa are 2 hours long and are done on individual basis to ensure that the trainee has full understanding of operating the instrument. Miroslav Hájek [☎ 393 (office) / ☎ 462 (sorter)] conduct training sessions. You may schedule training session by contacting her via e-mail or by phone.

Booking / Cancellation Etiquette

All users need to register at the Cytometry Facility and complete the training to get access to the Facility booking system. Please use the Online Scheduler to make your booking. Remember to book enough time to clean the machine when you are done. Bookings are made on first come-first served basis.
Important: If you are running more than 20 minutes later than your booked start time, then your booking will be considered cancelled, unless you contact us to renegotiate a time.

Local safety rules

• Only samples BSL-2 or lower are allowed on the Facility.
• Unfixed BSL-2 biological materials are not allowed on analyzers.
• No food or drinks are permitted at the flow cytometry laboratories.
• Radioactive materials are not permitted anywhere in the flow cytometry laboratories.

Sample preparation

• In order to safeguard the integrity of the instrument, all samples must be filtered just before running on the instrument (⇒ Falcon #352235).
• Samples should be resuspended in media that protects the viability of the cell preparation without disrupting the optimal functioning of the machine. The use of PBS without calcium and magnesium, supplemented with 5 mM EDTA and a maximum of 2% BSA or fetal bovine serum is highly recommended.
• It is advisable to keep the samples on ice and protect them from light.
• For proper compensation, it is required to bring positive control samples stained with only one fluorochrome for EACH fluorochrome used in the experiment. Omission of these controls may make it impossible to analyze the data properly. Negative and isotype matched controls are also needed.

User Responsibilities

• Proper usage and routine maintenance of the equipment are critical for optimal data collection. Although calibrations and other maintenance procedures are the responsibility of staff members, it is important that users properly perform the startup, shutdown, and cleaning procedures as described in training session and in our SOPs. Failure to adhere to these rules at all times will result in suspension of access to instruments.
• If a user suspects an instrument malfunction, please notify the staff immediately. During off hours, please send an email describing the problem to Alžbeta Magdolenová. Tampering with the instruments is prohibited and will result in loss of privileges. If a user causes further damage to an instrument by trying to “fix” it, they will be charged for time and labor to repair it as well as loss of privileges.
• Users agree to properly care for the instruments and computers - be gentle when changing the sheath/waste tanks, during long runs be sure to check fluid levels, and refrain from downloading material onto the computers (we don’t want viruses!).