Flow Cytometry

Register your account

In order to access the booking form and equipment calendar you will firstly have to register your details with the PPMS booking system

This can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/bookflowcyt

You will be required to create a project after your registration has been accepted. You will then be able to request training, book the analysers or order services (cell sorts, submit samples to run on the CyTOF etc).

Accessing the server

Data can be transfered from the analysis equipment to a server which can be mapped to from any computer on or off campus. Access to the server is requested through IT and information can be found here accessing the flow data server

Accessing the laboratories

Please contact the facility for infomration on how to get access to the laboratories in the CTF.  

Accessing to the equipment and training

Firstly, contact the Facility Manager Dr Gareth Howell either by email (gareth.howell@manchester.ac.uk) or drop into his office in the CTF Building for a discussion about your project and what you hope to gain from using flow cytometry technology.

Before accessing the facility ALL new users need to attend an induction session, irrespective of how much experience they may have, and ideally within a couple of weeks of when you plan to use the equipment.

The induction is a two-hour session in the CTF flow lab and is run weekly. The induction will take you through accessing the facility and general lab details. It will also be an introduction to the machines and the various start up and shut down procedures.

Following the induction we will organise a 1-2-1 session with your samples for the follow up training.

You will then need to perform 6 hours of machine time with supervision (either with a member of your lab who is experienced in using the facility, or arranged with a member of facility staff).

Upon completion of this probationary period you will need to undertake a proficieny test before full booking access is granted.

If you would like to attend the next induction session please email Gareth (facility manager) to find out more information.

Contact: gareth.howell@manchester.ac.uk

Detailed information about the equipment we have in the Facility can be accessed under the 'Equipment and Systems' page linked above.

Sorting equipment

Cell sorting is undertaken by trained facility staff and run as a service to the research community.

Sorting appointments are arranged at a mutually convenient time following discussion with the sort operator.

Researchers will then be required to submit an 'Order' through the PPMS system which will then be accepted by the operator.

Following the sorting experiment the operator will edit the sort order and submit this to finance.

Details regarding sample preparation etc can be found on the cell sorting page

Flowjo

We use Flowjo to perform third-party data analysis of the data produced in the Facility.

For more information and training resources on Flowjo please visit the website at http://flowjo.com

We have a number of Flowjo dongles that are available for loan from the Facility. Additionally, you can request a personal 'portal' license through the facility. 

Please contact us for further information.

We run a series of in-house training workshops on all aspects of cytometry.

• New User Training on Analysers

New users will be requited to attend a laboratory induction session where local rules and building health and safety are covered. 

One-to-one training on operation of the analysers will be arranged s required and is detailed in the 'Accessing the Facility' section above.

• TechnoShort workshops

These are a series of 3-hour long workshops that over consecutive weeks cover the following topics:

• Introduction to flow cytometry

• Multicolour panel design

• Compensation in flow cytometry data

Classes are restricted to 8 attendees due to space in the lab

• Imagestream workshop

We are planning to provide an introduction to the Imagestream technology in a workshop.

Please e-mail Gareth if you are interested, and updates will be posted here

Panel Design

Please contact the Facility to discuss any panel design questions you may have. 

We also run a short workshop 'Multicolour panel design' as part of the Technoshort series of workshops (detailed above).

To aid in panel design please read below about published optimized panels (OMIPs)

Flurochrome Brightness Index

Not all flurochromes are the same and one of the challenges of designing a multicolor flow cytometry experiment is balancng the anticipated expression level of the antign with the relaive brightness of the flurochrome. To aid this there are 'Brightness Index' tables where the relative brightness of common flurochromes are given. 

Click here for the brightness index table (opens a new tab)

OMIPs (Optimized Panels) & CPHENs

Optimized Multicolor Immunofluorescence Panel (OMIP) is a special peer-reviewed Cytometry Part A publication type that reports on newly designed and optimized multicolor panels for flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, image cytometry, and other polychromatic fluorescence-based methods. The first two OMIPs were published in the September 2010 issue of the Journal.

Whilst OMIPs describe the technical process of their complex phenotyping panel, CPHENs (Comprehensive Phenotyping) articles  describe the population of interest explaining the biological and functional reasons for choosing a defined combination of monoclonal antibodies giving tips and tricks to avoid possible mistakes or misinterpretations of data.

Both OMIPs and CPHENs are excellent articles types for developing multicolour immunophenotyping panels for flow cytometry and associated technologies. 

**NEW** Mandatory filtering of samples

In order to reduce the possibility of clogs and blockages, all samples, unless pre-arranged with the Facility manager, must be filtered (<80um) at the flow cytometer, even if samples were filtered earlier in the day at the lab bench.

The facility will not provide filters but can recommend a suitable solution.

Altered cleaning protocol (please allow 15 minutes at the end of your session to perform this cleaning procedure)

In Diva create a new tube within your experiment to record your cleaning samples

Set the events to record to one hundred million (100,000,000) and the Stopping time (sec) to 600 seconds

Place a ¾ full tube of 5% contrad on the sample port

Leave the arm open and run for 20 seconds

Close the arm and run on High for 10 minutes

Record this within Diva

Create a new tube in Diva and change the Stopping time (sec) to 300 seconds

Replace the tube with a tube of dH2O

Leave the arm open and run for 20 seconds

Close the arm and run on High for 5 minutes

Record this within Diva

Leave the water in place and put the fluidics on Standby or follow the shut down procedure as appropriate.

A remainder of other good practise

Data  storage

Do not use FACSDiva for long-term storage of data. Please ensure you export data and delete old experiments from the FACSDiva software. 

Data will be deleted without warning if it is over 1 month old from FACSDiva.

No USB or external data drives

There is a zero use policy of USB sticks or external data drives. Please do not use these on any of the machines within the facility (excludes FACSVerse).

To export data either email it to yourself (note there is limited internet access on computers connected to FACS machines in the facility) or use the flow data server for secure transfer of data. Please see PPMS – Documents for information on how to access this server. 

Sheath and waste

Please check the level of the sheath fluid in the silver tank at the beginning of your session and ensure the waste in below the black line on the waste bottle. Fill or empty as appropriate.

At the end of your session fill up the sheath tank or empty the waste as appropriate.