Please note: The facility will be moving to the IRC during the first part of Sepember. We will close the CSC facility for the duration of the move.

Samples exceeding BSL-2 cannot be analyzed or sorted in this facility unless the biohazards are inactivated through fixation.

• Prior to Using the Flow Lab
• Making Appointments
• Facility Availability
• In the Lab
• Consultation

1. Attend Introduction to Flow Cytometry lecture series which is offered monthly.
2. E-mail any of the contacts at the Flow Cytometry Facility with a request to open an account for you to access the on-line scheduling system for making appointments. Please include a current grant #, UDDS code, and a day-time phone number. They will then e-mail your user name and password to begin making appointments. The tutorial (PDF) will give you step-by-step instructions for setting up and managing appointments.

1. If you have not used the Flow Cytometry Facility before, refer to the above section, Prior to Using the Flow Lab.
2. Please make appointments to use the Flow Cytomtery Equipment
3. Make note of the cancellation, no show and log-in password policies noted in the on-line scheduler. Remember that you may need a lead time of at least 96 hours for benchtop analysis and as much as 2 weeks for sorting. Plan ahead.
4. We encourage all users to learn to run the benchtop cytometers themselves. Attendance at the monthly lecture series is required for all benchtop training sessions. Once you have the attended the lecture series, make an appointment for 01. Training - New Users.
5. If you have not been trained to run the cytometers, or if you need assay-specific instruction, make an Assisted Benchtop appointment. Email us about experimental design, fluorochrome selection, and appropriate instrumentation.
6. DO NOT make a self-run appointment for any cytometer until you are able to operate the instruments independently.

1. The facility is staffed from 8-5pm Monday-Friday. We will accommodate requests after hours only if arrangements are made well in advance.
2. The facility is available at all times to trained users.
3. Benchtop analyzers are user-operated. We strongly encourage all users to learn to operate these cytometers. Attendance at the introductory lecture series is required before instruction will be provided. If you have not used the Flow Facility before, refer to the section above, Prior to Using the Flow Lab.
4. All users are expected to learn basic data analysis.
5. The sorting cytometers are staff-operated only.
6. The laboratory is closed on:

• Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day
• The Friday of our annual regional meeting-usually the first weekend in October.

Cancellation Policies

Appointments can be cancelled on-line or by calling the office (263-0313) without penalty according to the following schedule:

1. Benchtop cytometers, microscope:
   On-line cancellation up to 24 hours before appointment.  Cancellations made less than 24 hours before an appointment may be subject to billing for total time scheduled.
   
   
2. Sorters: 
   On-line cancellation up to 48 hours prior to the appointment.  Sorting appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours notice will be billed for a minimum of 1 hour of sorting time.
   
   
3. No shows: 
   Failure to keep an appointment will result in a charge for the amount of time scheduled. 

1. You must provide all the supplies necessary to analyze or sort your samples. These include: sample tubes (12 X 75 mm FALCON round bottom polystyrene), dilution buffers, propidium iodide or other vital dye, and serum for cell collection after sorting.
2. Check your samples. If there are visible particulates, the samples must be filtered before being placed on the cytometers. All samples to be placed on the sorters must be filtered just prior to the sort and the facility will provide those filters.

1. You are responsible for keeping users of the facility safe. You are required on the online appointment information form to inform us if your samples contain a biohazard.
2. We ask that you use disposable gloves when operating the cytometer.
3. You are responsible for cleaning the area around the cytometer after its use. Dispose of sample tubes in the appropriate containers and wipe up any spills.
4. You are also responsible for the care of the instrument when you complete your analysis. The staff will instruct you on proper instrument care at the end of your run.
5. Our biosafety cabinet is available for general use, unless posted. No yeast or bacteria allowed in the cabinet or incubator.

1. You are the primary caretaker of your data. Data is acquired on a cytometer and immediately transferred to our data server. You may download the data to your own computer, bring a medium to store the data, or access the server from your own computer. We will provide you with instructions when you use the facility.
2. All data is burned to CDs weekly and is deleted within 3 weeks of appearing on the server. We do not check these CDs to make sure your data is intact. Archive your data before it disappears from the server.
3. The server is for current raw data only. We will not retrieve your data from a CD and place it there. You are responsible for coming to the lab and collecting older data. You may not place analyzed data, power point presentations, or old data on the server. Talk to us about making arrangements to do these tasks elsewhere.

1. Off-line computers are available for analysis. You may schedule a computer or may use them on a first come/first served basis.
2. There is no charge for the use of these computers.
3. We are available to teach data analysis, but please check with us for convenient times.