Getting started

Acknowledgments

Please Acknowledge any manuscripts and grants supported by this core using the following:

"This work was supported by the "Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute Flow Cytometry Core Facility"

Guidelines for acknowledgments

Registration

Clients must have a completed registration form on file prior to using the facility. Registration form.

Sort requests

Must be accompanied with a Biosafety questionnaire.

Please refer to sample preparation guidelines for sorting and Biosafety policies

New Users

Link to resource Scheduler

Information on FlowJo License

Hours of Operation

Facility staff is available between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday – Friday. Staff will endeavor to accommodate clients outside of these hours upon special request however additional charges may apply (see billing).

Cell sorting appointments start at 10:00 am. With the last appointment reserved no later than 3:30pm unless special provisions have been made for assistance outside of normal working hours.

Access to the facility after hours is restricted to LTRI clientele with appropriate training – prior approval is required.  After hour access for users external to the LTRI requires the presence of facility staff due to restricted LTRI building access. 

Responsibilities

No radiolabeled samples are permitted on any instrument.

Clients are responsible for following start-up and shut down procedures (quick reference guides are available next to the instrument).

Clients are required to perform a complete shut down of the instrument if they are the last user of the day or there is two hours prior to the next booking.

Training

Unassisted operation of analytical instruments requires training and sign-off from core staff even if a client has had previous training at another facility. Training can be customized to meet the needs of clients. Instructional tutorials are available to provide theoretical background as well as practical advice in practicing successful flow cytometry.

Data Management

Data storage is the sole responsibility of the client and clients are urged to transfer data to their own storage devices as soon as possible. Data will be removed regularly from the instrument workstation since it adversely affects instrument performance.

Data storage on the dedicated analysis workstations will be removed when necessary so please use access to the LTRI network drives available on the analysis workstations to save your data to the LTRI network storage drives.

Clients may log on to the instruments work station to transfer data. However, please note that off-line instrument analysis should be done using the available analysis workstations or client’s personal computer since the instrument log cannot distinguish between actual instrument usage and analysis and charges may be applied accordingly.

Billing and Reservations

Please note that we only gaurantee that instruments are working within design specification and make no gaurantee of positive experimental outcomes. Therefore instrument usage charges pertain to time on instrument and will not be adjusted in the event of undesired experimental outcomes.

Reservations requiring operator assistance can be made by viewing the facilities resource scheduler and contacting the operator to make a reservation.

A 48 hr. cancelation policy is in effect for assisted services (not including weekends and holidays). Contact the operator directly for cancelations. No-Shows or late arrivals will be charged for the full reservation. Requests for operator assistance outside of normal hours are available as a special request (additional charges up to 1.5X normal rate may apply).

Clients will have access to the facilities calendar to view availability and make reservations. Reservations can also be made through request.

Qualified clientele will receive logins for instruments on which they have been trained.

Please note that actual instrument usage is logged for each client and reconciled with calendar reservations. Charges will apply to the higher of the two.  Instrument use without reservation may be charged at 1.5X normal rate – discretion of core.

Reservations for unassisted instrument use may be canceled with 24 hrs. (not including weekends and holidays) and it is the responsibility of the client to make the cancelation. No-Shows will be charged for the full reservation.

Reservations can be changed to a different client by contacting core staff if the reservation is past the 24 hr. notice period. Please note that charges will be made to the reservation holders account so it is important to ensure the reservation is changed to the correct client.

Billing period - Usage is billed every quarter (through cost center or invoice).