The rockefeller university

To help us maintain the Flow Cytometry Resource Center at its optimum, we ask that you read and follow these guidelines and be considerate of other users. If you have questions or requests, need advice on procedures or have any suggestions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact FCRC Director at any time.

A RESOURCE AVAILABILITY

1. Cell Sorters – BD FACSAriaII-1, BD FACSAriaII-2, and BD FACS AriaII-3 [Staff-operated (Assisted)], and Sony MA900 [Staff-operated (Assisted) or Self-operated (Unassisted)]
   • The instruments and operators are available for sorts Monday through Friday according to the Cell Sorting Schedule.
   • The sorts are scheduled on a first-booked-first-served basis.
   • Assisted Cell Sort Scheduling is done at the discretion of the FCRC, to maximize availability for the entire RU community. FCRC Staff schedules sorts from the beginnings or the ends of the day to avoid breaking large time blocks.
   • If time is unscheduled one day prior to sort, FCRC Staff can adjust the schedule to fit better particular user needs.
   • There is no time limit for cell sorting (length). Reservation can be made up to 2 weeks in advance.
   • To schedule a sort, please:
     • Check time availability on the FCRC-PPMS System
     • Fill up FCRC Sort Booking Form
     • Get follow-up confirmation letter from FCRC staff
   • Prior to the first sort of a new protocol, please arrange an appointment with FCRC Director to discuss the details of the sort.
   • All the sorts are performed either by FCRC operators (BD AriaII-1, 2, 3 or Sony MA900), or by trained users (Sony MA900).
   • Condition of NYSTEM funding for the FACSAria II-2:
     • Support through the NYSTEM grant shall be acknowledged in all publications, presentations and products of research resulting from use of or data acquired through the BD FACSAriaII-2, in a form consistent with the publication’s guidelines.
     • The acknowledgement should reference “Support by the Empire State Stem Cell fund through NYSDOH Contract #C023046” and include following statement “Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Empire State Stem Cell Fund, the NYSDOH, or the State of NY.”
     • Please be sure to send to FCRC_Staff@rockefeller.edu documentation for publications funded wholly or in part by the contract that include an acknowledgment of this funding support. This information must be submitted to NYSTEM within 60 days of publication.
2. SPECTRAL (Cytek Aurora) and CONVENTIONAL (BD LSRII / LSR-Fortessa, Agilent NovoCyte Penteon and  ThermoFisher Attune NxT) Cell Analyzers
   • The Analyzers are available 24/7 except during maintenance periods (see Section B. Weekly Maintenance below).
   • Data acquisition on the Flow Cytometry Cell Analyzers is done by researchers and considered as self-service.
     • To operate Cell Analyzers RU researcher should attend the “Beyond the Basics” Flow Cytometry Class (FCRC-PPMS Request Form A1)
     • To get access to the FCRC instruments, RU researcher supposes to get logins/passwords based on the Login System
     • To activate RU card for DWB211/308/306 FCRC door access (FCRC-PPMS Request Form A0)
   • FCRC-PPMS System allows users to book time on the Cell Analyzers:
     • Time could be booked up to two weeks in advance
     • The experiments are scheduled on a first-booked-first-served basis
     • For the time booked more than 24 hours in advance, you may schedule in 30-minute increments and generally should not book more than 2 hours at a time during the high demand period (weekdays: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm)
     • For the short term booking (less than 24 hours in advance), there is no restriction on how much time to be booked
     • If your procedure requires more than 2 hours, please sign-up for non-peak hours (when there is no maximum time restriction) or contact FCRC staff to book time for you
   • During the acquisition, the data files could be saved in the temporary folder on the desktop of the computer attached to the instrument. After the completion of the experiment, all the files should be moved out (Refer to Data Storage and Retention Policy).
   • FCRC is not responsible for data files left on FCRC computers.
   • All the experiments are performed by researchers themselves unless FCRC personnel assistance is requested.
   • To get an appropriate assistance from FCRC staff please be sure to schedule it in advance by contacting FCRC staff.
   • For charges of FCRC staff assistance, please refer to Charges and Fees.
3. Analysis Computers – FCRC Aurora-Client1 / 2, Analysis PC1 / 2 / 3 / 5 (other than these attached to the instruments above)
   • The computers are available 24/7.
   • Could be booked on FCRC-PPMS System. Access to the computers is on first-come-first-served basis (without signup).
   • These computers are dedicated to flow cytometry data analysis only. They are on the RU network, run Flow Cytometry (FlowJo, FCS Express, BD FACSDiVa, Sony Cell Sorter, SpectroFlo, NovoExpress, IDEAS, ModFit and etc.) and Office programs to analyze and publish data.
   • Absolutely no data can be stored on the FCRC analysis computers.
   • FCRC Analysis PC3 is dedicated for ImageStream-X Data analysis (IDEAS), and data can be temporarily saved for 3 months in this computer. Users are responsible to make archival copies of their data.
   • After the completion of the experiment, all the files should be moved out (Refer to Data Storage and Retention Policy).
   • All the data analysis is performed by researchers themselves unless FCRC personnel assistance is requested.
   • To get an appropriate assistance from FCRC staff please be sure to schedule it in advance by contacting FCRC staff.
   • For charges of FCRC staff assistance, please refer to Charges and Fees.

B WEEKLY MAINTENANCE

1. Regular weekly maintenance on all FCRC Analyzers is scheduled on Mondays (see time blocks on FCRC-PPMS System).
2. Regular weekly maintenance includes the following procedures on all FCRC Analyzers:
   • Instrument cleaning according to FCRC-recommended procedures for Weekly or Monthly Maintenance
   • Quality Control according to company-recommended procedures
   • Fresh preparation of all the solutions for spray and drop bottles
   • Removal and discard of all unlabeled sample tubes and racks from the desks and benches
   • Purge of all illegitimate files from the computers

C CHARGES AND CANCELLATION POLICY

1. To recover essential operating costs, the FCRC charges hourly fees for the sorts and use of the analyzers according to Charges and Fees.
2. Usage of computers (other than those attached to the instruments) is free of charge.
3. To avoid cancellation fees, scheduled operator-assisted services (BD FACSAria-1, BD FACSAria-2, BD FACSAria-3 and Sony MA900) must be cancelled no later than 48 hours prior to the scheduled sort. If the scheduled sort is not cancelled by this time, the FCRC will impose a charge for one-half of total time originally scheduled. For details please refer to Charges and Fees.
4. Scheduled use of the CONVENTIONAL Cell Analyzers (BD LSRII / LSR-Fortessa, Agilent NovoCyte Penteon and ThermoFisher Attune NxT) and SPECTRAL Cell Analyzers (Cytek Aurora) must be cancelled no later than 12 hours in advance of the scheduled start time. If the scheduled use of the analyzer is not cancelled by this time, the FCRC will impose a charge for one-half of the original amount of time scheduled.
5. Charges on Cell Analyzers are calculated based on logged computer time (Windows), using “login/logout” report.
6. For charges of FCRC staff assistance, please refer to Charges and Fees.

D LOGIN SYSTEM

1. Please read detailed information about Login System before planning your experiment.
2. Be sure to set up all necessary logins/passwords in advance according to Login/Password and Training Requirements.
3. Please use your own login ID only and log off at the earliest convenience to avoid extra charges.

E OPERATION PROCEDURES

1. The Cell Analyzers are run in combination with Fluidics Supply Systems attached to the instruments. To avoid instrument malfunction be sure to read and follow the corresponding Instrument Maintenance Guidelines.
2. Each user is responsible to wash instrument after sample acquisition is completed. Detailed notes on washing procedures are posted on the instruments. After instrument is washed, be sure to put it on “standby” or perform Fluidics Shutdown procedure.
3. Do not forget to Log off from FCRC computers after the work is completed.
4. During regular business hours (9:00 am – 6:00 pm on weekdays) please leave Instrument “on”.
5. During weekends and off hours (after 6:00 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays) please switch “off” Instrument.
6. Never turn “off” FCRC computers to allow remote access for RU IT and scheduled backups to be performed.
7. Clean up FCRC bench space and discard all the tubes into the red containers for biohazard waste.
8. Please discard all non-biohazard waste into black containers for regular waste.

F TRAINING, CONSULTATION, DISCUSSION AND TROUBLESHOOTING

1. The subjects reviewed at the training sessions vary depending on the background, needs and interests of the investigators. See Class and Hands-on Training Requirements. Please do not hesitate to contact FCRC Director to find out the best solution for you.
2. For the Class and Hands-on Training (Sony MA900, Aurora, BD LSR, HTS, NovoCyte Penteon and Attune NxT), please fill up the specific form on FCRC-PPMS. The Class and Training sessions are scheduled on a first-booked-first-served basis.
3. For Consultation and Help, please fill up the specific form on FCRC-PPMS.
4. For Discussion, feel free to contact the FCRC Director during regular working hours or 24/7 via e-mail.

G THE FACILITY

1. The FCRC is located in 14th floor of the Weiss Research Building (WRB) which is limited to those with authorized University ID cards. Detailed floor map please check Contact Info.
2. You may have your ID card programmed for access by requesting RU Card Activation for FCRC Door Access (FCRC-PPMS Request Form A0). For safety purposes, please do not prop open the door to the FCRC.