Guidelines

The Flow Cytometry Facility is a resource for numerous investigators. To help us maintain the flow cytometry laboratory functionality and performance at its best, we ask that you read and follow our guidelines and be considerate of other users.

If you have questions or requests, please email Susanne Heck Senior Flow Cytometry Manager. 

General rules and guidance for self-service instruments

• Eating, drinking, smoking and application of make-up are not allowed in the flow cytometry laboratory
• Due to limited capacity the flow cytometry laboratory can not refrigerate/freeze user samples for longer than the stay in the laboratory
• Self service instruments are available 24/7 except during maintenance and repair periods  Out of hours and weekend work requires users to adhere to the Trust lone worker policy.
• Data acquisition on the BRC analysers is done by researchers and considered as self-service
• To operate cell analysers researcher must attend the basic flow cytometry training course in order to obtain login credentials. ImageStream and FlexMap3D users will also obtain instrument specific training prior to use
• To book time on the cell analysers, please use the online booking systems for the corresponding instruments
• The experiments are scheduled on a first-booked-first-served basis
• You may schedule in 15 minute increments and generally should not book more than 2 hours at a time during prime usage time (weekdays: 12 noon – 8pm). BRC members will have priority access to the instrumentation. No single user can book more than 8 hours of prime time usage per week.
• Users who do not arrive within 30 minutes of their start time forfeit the booking. Anyone may use the cytometers after this 30-minute grace period and may not be asked to leave.
• Users who book a timeslot they are unable to use must delete their booking from the calendar no later than 2 hours before the appointment.
• The flow cytometry laboratory staff reserve the right to review the time scheduled for an experiment with the user to avoid unnecessary blocking of the instruments.
• During the acquisition, the data files can be on the computer attached to the instrument. After the completion of the experiment, all the files should be moved out immediately to the FACS data transfer server. Do not record directly onto alternative storage media, you will lose data.
• The use of USB sticks and external hard drives for data transfer as well as using internet browsers on the instrument workstations is not allowed to reduce the risk of virus infections.
• Flow cytometry laboratory staff are not responsible for data files left on facility computers. Files left on the hard disk will be removed during regular weekly maintenance without further notification.
• All experiments are performed by trained researchers themselves unless flow cytometry laboratory personnel assistance is requested. This service must be booked in advance by emailing or phoning the team. 

Regular weekly maintenance

Regular weekly maintenance on all flow cytometry self service instruments is performed by low cytometry laboratory staff and is scheduled on Mondays from 9am - 10:30am. It includes the following procedures:

• Instrument cleaning according to manufacturer instruction for regular maintenance
• Quality Control according to manufacturers protocol
• Fresh preparation of all the solutions for spray bottles and cleaning tubes
• Discard of all unlabelled sample tubes and racks from the desks and bench
• Purge of all illegitimate files from the computers

Maintenance by users 

• Users must run cleaning tubes at the end of their experiment. Detailed instructions are posted on the instruments. Tubes are available next to the instruments.  Users that are found repeatedly not following cleaning procedures may have their access rights suspended for a period of time. 
• Users must empty the waste tanks or fill up the sheath tank if necessary. Check levels before starting to acquire samples. The waste tank must be filled with 1 litre of bleach after it was emptied. All BD analysers use BD FACS flow buffer as sheath fluid. Boxes are available in the flow lab.
• During regular business hours (Monday- Friday, 9am - 5pm) users must set instruments on standby when they are finished with their run.
• During off-hours and on weekends users must shut down the fluidics and turn the instruments off when they have finished cleaning after their acquisition.
• Do not under any circumstances let instruments or let tubes run dry. This introduces air bubbles into the system which are hard to clear out.
• Users must filter all samples that go on the sorters, the Fortessa/LSR II and Image Stream analyser through a nylon mesh filter to remove clumps. These cause clogging which is difficult and time consuming to clear. Nylon filters are available from BD Falcon (Falcon 2235), Partec (CellTrics sterile filter caps) or as sheets of nylon mesh (e.g. from B-CMN-40 from small parts).
• Users must clean the bench space around the cytometers from any spills and discard tubes, tips etc into the biohazard waste containers. All non biohazard waste is collected in regular waste bins.
• If a problem occurs with any of the instruments, please seek assistance first from the flow cytometry laboratory team. If nobody is available at that moment, send the team staff an email BRCFlowCore@gstt.nhs.uk to notify them of the problem and place a note on the screen to inform other users.