Instruments

The following guidelines apply to all URMC Flow Cytometry Core Instruments. If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact Tim Bushnell.

Policies

In the event the instrument you are booked on is down, the core personnel will notify you as soon as possible, and will make every effort to reschedule your experiment as close to your initial time as possible. This may require the use of a different instrument. If you are uncomfortable running this instrument, the core will assist you and waive the $20/hour operator assist fee.
If your run is taking longer than expected and will run into another users time, they have the right to bump you at the time their run is to start.
After hours, the last person registered on the calendar is responsible for
turning off the instrument in question.
Do not give after hours access to the facility or instruments to someone who
doesn't have access. If a person's ID doesn't allow them access to the
facility after hours, there is a reason for that
The cancellation policy is as follows:
- For sorting - Users must cancel their time 48 hours in advance of their scheduled appointment. This is done by notifying a staff member and also filling out the cancellation form found on the navigation panel.
- For analysis - Users must cancel their time no less than 24 hours in advance of their scheduled appointment. Users must also submit a cancellation form found in the navigation panel.
- For both sorting and analysis - reservations from 6pm to 9am may be cancelled at any time without worry.
Failure to adhere to these policies will result in additional charges to your account as well as loss of access to the facility. Access will be restored after meeting with Tim. Persistent offenders (more than three violations in a calendar year) will be required to undergo training and additional requirements as determined by the Flow Core staff.

Access and Training

Before getting access to any core instrument, you will need to be trained in the proper use of the equipment. If you have not been trained, please contact Matt Cochran to arrange training.
If you anticipate needing to use the machine after hours, please make sure you understand fully how to change the fluidics and shut down the instrument.
It is against core policy to make reservations for anyone other than yourself.
If you access the instruments in non-standard business hours (M-F after 5pm or weekends), you are responsible for checking the calendar (refresh the calendar) and shutting down the instrument if you are the last user for the day. Failure to shut down the instrument will result in the following penalties:
- Immediate loss of access to the flow core until you have met with Tim
- Your account being charged for the time the instrument was left on.

After-Hours Access

The Flow Core is open during normal business hours (9am to 5pm) from Monday through Friday.

To receive after-hours access, the investigator must fill out the afterhours access form. A separate training session (free, approximately ½ hour) will be scheduled to review the specifics of after-hours access and instrument troubleshooting. After this session, the investigator must pass a written afterhours access exam and practical demonstration. If they fail, they must wait two weeks to reschedule the test. An investigator can schedule this test any time after they have normal access to the instrument.

Instrumentation Usage

Do not change the filter configuration without first discussing changes with the Flow Core staff. Inappropriate filter configuration can lead to erroneous data. If the filters are changed for a particular experiment, they should be returned to the default configuration when you are finished.
Follow all posted cleaning guidelines. Guidelines are posted on or near each instrument.
For the LSRs:
- There are lines on the waste tank to determine when it should be emptied. If the waste is at or above that line, it must be emptied and bleach put in the bottom.
- Additionally, if you empty the waste, the sheath must be filled. The fill line for the sheath tank is marked by the weld line on the inside of the tank.
For the Canto, the system will notify you if the sheath tank needs to be filled. The waste should be checked and emptied as needed.
If the instrument maintenance policies are not followed, there will be a $35 fee charged. Policies include but are not limited to cleaning protocols, not shutting down the instrument if you are the last investigator for the day, etc.

Data Handling

Experiments will be deleted off the database at the end of each week. They will be deleted off the local computer at the end of the month.
Exported FCS files will be deleted off the computer once a week during long cleans. The Core will not back up this data. If you are missing FCS files, they can be recovered from archived experiments.

Billing Practices

Time for instruments will be billed based on the time reserved and/or time used, whichever is longer.
Instrumentation rates are found on the Billing and Fees page.
If you change labs or accounts, please notify Tim and Dave immediately so that your account can be updated correctly.

Tips and Tricks

When designing poly-chromatic experiments, it is strongly encouraged to make an appointment with a member of the Flow Core staff to review the experimental design to make sure that it can be run on one of our instruments
Bring the proper controls!
Check the website for frequent updates and information.
Subscribe to the ListServ.