Policies
In any shared resource facility, you will find policies in place to ensure fair access to equipment. It is a best practice to plan your experimentation in advance, be thoughtful in the handling of instrumentation, and be respectful to all staff and fellow facility users.
Use of Facility
- Hours & Access:
- Analyzers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Training is required to use the analyzers independently.
- If you are using an analyzer and encounter or suspect a problem with the instrument, email us at cellsort@caltech.edu.
- Failure to notify staff of significant issues can result in penalties, such as additional charges or revocation of facility privileges.
- If you are using the analyzers outside of business hours and require assistance, we cannot guarantee our staff will be able and available to help. Please email cellsort@caltech.edu, and we will get back to you at the earliest convenience.
- Operator-assisted sorting and analyzer assistance is available between the hours of 10AM and 5PM, Monday through Friday, excluding institute holidays. Off-hour sorting may be possible with the approval of the Facility Director.
- Analyzers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Training is required to use the analyzers independently.
- If you suspect any of the instruments to be contaminated, please notify cellsort@caltech.edu immediately.
- Self-serve sort training will be available on a case-by-case basis.
- All users must have PI\Lab Manager approval and provide a PTA before using our facility.
- Self-serve operations must be performed using your own log in credentials. Do not use another person's account or allow someone to use your account under any circumstance.
- Self-serve users are responsible for logging out of the software at the end of their appointment. Failure to do so can result in the user being billed for the time their account was left logged in, regardless of how long they actually used the equipment for.
- Misuse of facility will result in revoked privileges of self-serve instruments and mandatory re-training at the user's expense.
- Data Management:
- Data collection and management is ultimately the responsibility of the user. We do not back up instrument computers.
- For Self-serve appointments, the user is responsible for backing up their data to SharePoint. Training on how to do so will be provided. We cannot guarantee that any data not backed up by the user will be retained.
- For operator-assisted sorts, data will be backed up by staff and added to SharePoint for later access.
Acknowledgements
- All publications that include results or products generated in the Caltech Flow Cytometry & Cell Sorting Facility must include the following acknowledgement:
- "Data used in this (manuscript, presentation, or other format) was generated in the Caltech Flow Cytometry & Cell Sorting Facility. Our Research Resource Identifier number is RRID: SCR_025087."
Scheduling & Billing
- Consultations
- For new users or new projects, a consultation is required.
- If your project changes significantly, you will need to submit a new Biosafety form and attend a new consultation.
- Scheduling
- Instrument use is governed by the instrument calendar. When your reservation time is up, others should expect the instrument to be available and cleaned. Reservation times should include all necessary setup and cleaning times.
- Minimum booking time is 1 hour.
- Recommended booking advance notice is as follows:
- Operator-assisted (analyzers or sorters): 1 week
- Self-serve sorters –1 week
- Self-serve analyzers-none
- If you require an appointment on short notice, we will do our best to accommodate you, although we cannot guarantee a timeslot without appropriate notice.
- Cancellation notice: Users who cancel after the cancellation window may be charged fully for their reservation at the direction of the facility.
- Operator-assisted (analyzers or sorters): 24 hours before the start of the reservation
- Self-serve (analyzers or sorters): 12 hours before the start of the reservation
- Overtime/late arrival
- Please be punctual. If you are late for an appointment, you will still be charged for the entirety of your reservation.
- If you require more time than is booked, an extension will be granted based on operator and instrument availability. Additional time on the instruments will be billed accordingly.
- If you are a self-serve user, you should account for cleaning time when you book your reservation. You must be finished cleaning the machine and surrounding surfaces by the time your reservation ends.
Safety
- It is imperative to have full disclosure of all risks and biohazard issues during the initial consultation.
- We are unable to work with materials requiring BSL3 or BSL4 precautions.
- IBC Approval must be obtained when appropriate. Failure to do so will result in the denial of further use of the Facility.
- All facility equipment resides in laboratory space. Therefore, all laboratory rules as mandated by Environmental Health & Safety and in the Caltech Biosafety Manual apply.
- All users must be up to date on their safety training.
- The facility does not support radioactive samples or materials for analysis and/or sorting.
- All lab materials must be disposed of correctly, even if they are not contaminated.
- Each lab space is outfitted with appropriate bins for biohazardous waste. All gloves and plastics should go into the biological waste bin while all pipette tips, glass, needles, and other sharps should go into the sharp containers.
- Laboratories in the facility should always be considered as BSL2 spaces.
- Bleach, CaviWipes, and 70% ethanol are provided for users to decontaminate any surfaces.
- Self-serve users are expected to thoroughly clean the instrument area before and after each use to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
- Please notify cellsort@caltech.edu of any biohazardous spills you encounter.
- Users are required to wear gloves when operating instruments and computers.