Instruments and Experimental Setup

Our facility has two customized BD FACSAria sorters, a BD LSRII analyzer, two BD FACSCaliburs, and a Miltenyi autoMACS magnetic cell sorter. Additional computers are available for offline data analysis.

Biosafety

All users must complete and return a biosafety agreement form prior to running samples on any of our equipment equipment.

Our core is a multi-user facility where samples from various sources are analyzed and sorted. The safety of our staff and users is our utmost concern. Therefore, accurate information about sample sources, potential infectious agents, and sample preparation procedures is crucial for effective biosafety risk assessment. Failure to fully disclose important biosafety information may result in permanent denial of services.

Unfixed non-infectious human primary samples, other unfixed human samples such as cell lines, other unfixed non-human samples that carry material that could infect humans, or other unfixed samples classified as Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) may only be run on the FACSAriaIIu in the biosafety cabinet. You must meet with us prior to running any such samples and provide us with appropriate documentation. All other human primary samples or samples which carry material that could infect humans must be fixed prior to running. You may not run any actively infectious or radioactive samples on any of our machines.

Biosafety Agreement Form

FACSAria and FACSAriaII - Sorters

Our custom built BD FACSAria and FACSAriaII are high-speed cell sorters (up to 20,000 cells/second) and analyzers (up to 50,000 cells/second). They each have five lasers: 355nm UV, 407nm Violet, 488nm Blue, 532nm Green, and 633nm Red (FACSAria) or 639nm Red (FACSAriaII). Both can sort cells into plates, onto slides, or up to four different populations simultaneously into tubes.

Sorting services are provided by our trained facility staff. We offer morning, afternoon, and evening sort time during our open business hours. We follow the same holiday schedule as Massachusetts General Hospital, so there is no sorting available during holidays. For more details on available sort hours, visit the Online Scheduler.

The FACSAria is located in a biosafety cabinet and is available for sorting BSL2 approved cells. Please contact us if you are interested in running BSL2 samples - including Lentivirus infected samples or human primary samples - prior to booking your appointment.

Experimental setup and sample preparation for FACSAria Sorting

FACSAria Cancellation Policy

LSR II - Analyzer

We have one BD LSRII analyzer with four lasers: 355nm UV, 407nm Violet, 488nm Blue, and 633nm Red. It can detect up to 14 fluorescence parameters. We provide training for independent use. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for trained users.

FACSCaliburs - Analyzers

We have two BD FACSCalibur analyzers. Each has two lasers: 488nm Blue and 635nm Red. They can detect up to four fluorescence parameters. FACSCalibur1 is configured with a high-throughput plate reader. We provide training for independent use. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for trained users.

Experimental setup and sample preparation for the LSRII and FACSCaliburs

Self-Run Cancellation Policy

LSRII and FACSCalibur optical configurations

AutoMACS - Magnetic Cell Sorter

Our Miltenyi autoMACS Separator is available for high-speed magnetic cell sorting. We provide assistance for independent use, as well as columns and running buffer. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for trained users.

Offline Analysis

We have several computers available for independent offline data analysis. Two Apple iMacs are in the main flow room; both have FlowJo installed, and one also has ModFitLT for cell cycle analysis. There is one additional Apple iMac in the CRM computer room for FlowJo and ModFit analysis. There is also a WindowsXP computer configured with FACSDiva 6.1 for further analysis of experiments collected on the LSRII or FACSArias. We provide training in FlowJo and ModFit LT for interested users. You may book time with us to prepare data for publication.

FlowJo software is free to download from flowjo.com but requires a hardware license. We have several FlowJo dongles available to lend out to users to analyze their data on their own computers. We request users return a dongle when they are not actively using it to ensure there are dongles available for all users.