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Caltech
Flow Cytometry
and Cell Sorting Facility
Home  /  Getting Started

Getting Started

Steps to Request Service:

  • Fill out our biosafety form. Download it HERE.
  • Send your completed biosafety form to cellsort@caltech.edu.
  • We will review the biosafety form and schedule a consultation with you to determine the proper instrumentation based on your experiment.
  • Check our instrument calendar (login with your Caltech credentials) for availability and schedule your time with cellsort@caltech.edu for facility run experiments, or training on user-run instruments.

It is important to plan your experiments carefully. This includes confirming the fluorescent labels and their combinations can be analyzed on the instrumentation we have available in the Facility.

Use of the Facility is by appointment only. If you have never used the Facility, or if you are planning a novel experiment, please contact cellsort@caltech.edu. We will schedule a consult with you. During the consult, we will discuss your experimental design and the availability of equipment as well as the potential of the cytometric experiments with you.

To ensure instrument and operator availability, aim to schedule appointments one week in advance. The Facility operates on a first come, first serve basis, and cannot grantee appointment times without advance notice. If you need to schedule an appointment within less than a week, we will do our best to accommodate you, but cannot make any guarantees.

Good communication with the cell sorter operator is essential for the success of your experiments. When making an appointment, please discuss the specific details of your experiment so an accurate estimate can be made as to how long the sort will take and the correct configuration of the instrument is ready for your arrival.

Please be punctual. If you are late for an appointment you will still be charged for all the time you had booked. To avoid additional charges, notify the Facility of planned changes in the scope of an experiment as soon as possible. Please let your operator know if you are running a few minutes behind schedule.

If you bring more cells than what was initially agreed upon, we may not be able to finish going through the full amount in a single appointment. Additional sort time may be granted on a case by case basis, depending on operator and instrument availability. You will be charged for all additional time.