Please call the Cell Analysis Facility personnel to schedule your appointments 402-559-6267. Our knowledgeable staff would be pleased to discuss details related to your project. In addition, we are available for advice and consultation on such topics as which fluorochromes and antibodies will suite your needs. Costs related to the project will be determined by the number of samples you intend to analyze and the type of experiment you you are proposing. Subsequently, we will work with you to develop a schedule and reserve time on an appropriate instrument for your experiment.
The following Cell Analysis Facility Templates/Forms are provided to assist with planning your experiments:
All samples are to be fixed unless there is a biological reason that precludes fixation. You must discuss with facility personnel if you intend to use unfixed samples prior to scheduling the use of facility resources.
Experiments are scheduled on a first come first serve basis. Please view Cell Analysis Facility On-line Scheduling (requires log-in with Lotus Notes ID and password). Unscheduled walk-in experiments will be accommodated as time allows, but please be aware that frequently means an operator must stay late and your project will be subject to our after business hours rate if that is the only time available. Our sorters are often reserved 1-3 weeks in advance due to high demand please plan ahead. We ask that you give us 24 hour notice to cancel an appointment so that we may offer that time to other investigators. Cancellations with less than 24 hours notice for sorting experiments may be subject to a fee.
Sorting time is billed from the time that the instrument was reserved for your use until it is available for another investigator's use, this does include time spent waiting while additional cell lines are prepared, while your staff leaves for lunch, time spent assessing the feasibility of a particular project or any other reason that a sorter is reserved for you and unavailable to other users. Please be respectful of these constraints and do not reserve time that you do not intend to use.
You must have a UNMC SAP account or other payment method registered with the facility in order to contract services. Your designated account will be electronically debited at the end of each month for services provided during that billing period. You will receive a courtesy invoice detailing your account activity for each month for your records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to bring for a sorting appointment?
- Bring your cost center number
- Your cells of interest in PBS, preferably in counts of 5 million cells/ml of PBS.
- Collection tubes with media. Collection tubes can be 12x75 mm or 15ml conical tubes. Each tube should have approximately 1ml of media. The 12x75 mm tubes can hold approximately 600,000 cells while the 15ml tubes can hold up to 1.5 million sorted cells.
- Bring a negative control with cells that have been treated in the same manner as the cells to be sorted.
- If the sort is multicolor, bring compensation controls. Compensation controls must include tubes with cells that have been treated in the same manner as cells to be sorted. There should be the same number of compensation tubes as there are fluorochromes in the sort. Each tube should have cells and single antibody staining with an antibody that the cells will show positive expression of. SINGLE COLOR EXPERIMENTS ONLY REQUIRE A NEGATIVE CONTROL.
What do I need to bring for an experiment on the Calibur, LSR or Array?
- Bring your cost center number and the experiment layout.
- Bring a negative control with cells that have been treated in the same manner as the cells to be analyzed.
If the experiment is multicolor, bring compensation controls. Compensation controls must include tubes with cells that have been treated in the same manner as the cells to be analyzed. There should be the same number of compensation tubes as there are fluorochromes. Each tube should have cells (or Comp beads) and a single antibody which the cells will show a positive expression for. SINGLE COLOR EXPERIMENTS ONLY REQUIRE A NEGATIVE CONTROL.
What number do I call if I want to schedule an appointment for an instrument?
402-559-6267. Tell lab personnel what you are bringing, what you want done to them, and how many samples.
Who do I contact if I have a new experiment and I am unsure how to proceed or I have general questions?
Consults can be scheduled with Dr. Charlie Kuszynski by email: ckuszyns@unmc.edu or by phone 559-6299.
Lab operator, Victoria Smith (vbsmith@unmc.edu), can be contacted by email or at 559-6267.
Consults can be done over the phone or in person. If meeting in person please bring any references that you are using to the meeting.
What notice do I have to give if I want to bring samples to the lab to be run?
We request that samples being brought to the lab for flow cytometry analysis have appointments made. Appointments can be made the day of the experiment, but are made on a first come first serve. We will do our best to fit everyone in, but if it is imperative that results are ready by a certain time plan ahead and give at least a day’s notice. The sorting machines book up a week in advance generally, so plan ahead and call as soon as you think you will need one.
What do I do if I need to cancel an appointment?
Call the lab at 402-559-6267 and let someone know you will be unable to make the appointment.
Sort appointments must be canceled prior to 10:00 AM on the day of the sort or you will be charged a $45 setup fee.
