General Policies

The mission of the UCLA Flow Cytometry Core Facility is to facilitate research by providing access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and offering expert advice and support. Contact the core staff with any questions regarding the use of the facility or technical support.

As a shared facility we have instituted the following laboratory policy to assure equitable access and billing for all user laboratories:

1. Users of the facility are required to follow all applicable UCLA safety regulations. Independent user must have completed site-specific safety training.
2. Appointments are scheduled through the iLab Solutions log in. New users have to sign up for an account following the instructions as outlined under Appointments.
3. Billing account information is required when making or requesting an appointment.
4. Please be punctual. If you are late for your appointment your operator might not be able to run the experiment for you, or you may not be able to finish before the next scheduled appointment. We will also charge you for the waiting period if you had an assisted appointment. If the experiment cannot be finished in the allocated time, it will have to be finished whenever possible. Reserve or request time according to the number of tubes (or total cell numbers in the case of cell sorting) or the complexity of the experiment. If the experiment is significantly shorter than scheduled, we will have to charge you for all the reserved time.
5. It is advisable to be present whenever your samples are analyzed on the flow cytometer. If you choose to drop off your samples, please discuss all relevant details with the operator before you leave and provide us with a sample list that includes the fluorochromes for each marker.
6. If you have to cancel your analytic flow cytometry appointment, please call 24 hours in advance. If you fail to do so, we will have to charge you for all your allocated time.
7. If you have to cancel your cell sorting appointment for any reason within two weeks of your appointment, we have to charge you all your scheduled time up to a maximum of two hours. For further details on rules that govern experiments performed on cell sorting instruments, please refer to the Sort Policy.
8. Time spent on independent acquisition and off-line data analysis must be recorded by the user on the provided usage log sheet accurately and reliably. Repeated omissions of recording time may result in disallowing independent acquisition and data analysis for the user who is non-compliant. For further details on the rules that govern the independent operation of the analytic cytometers please refer to the Independent Use Policy and to the RoboSep Use Policy for performing magnetic cell separations.

1. Only users who have attended the Basic Training Course offered through the facility are permitted to use the analyzers independently. Training requests are processed through the iLab Solutions login. Experienced, reliable users with demonstrated skill in operating the instrumentation can obtain permission for after hour access to the Core facility from the Core supervisor by filling out the After Hour Access Form first and submitting it to the core. We do not permit the use of the instruments by users who were not trained directly by core personnel.
2. Appointments are made through the iLab Solutions log in. Please be aware that you are operating expensive, shared equipment that is used for numerous scientific projects. Therefore, any instrument downtime due to careless handling will affect many different investigators.
3. As for other services where charges apply, billing account information is required before the start of the experiment.
4. If you have to cancel within 24 hours, we have to charge you for all your allotted time.
5. Users of the facility are required to follow all applicable UCLA safety regulations. Independent user must have completed site-specific safety training. For sample transport to and from the core lab, a leakproof secondary container labeled with the biohazard symbol has to be used which is able to contain the samples in case of breakage of the primary container. A single tube may be placed into a plastic bag with a leakproof seal, a tube rack may be placed into a plastic carrier with a secure lid. During instrument operation users must wear gloves and a lab coat. Protective eyeglasses are recommended for splash protection.
6. Please be punctual! If you are late for your appointment, you may not be able to finish before the next user’s scheduled appointment time. Until you feel confident setting up the flow cytometer for acquisition by yourself, check in with the Core staff before you start running your samples on the flow cytometer so we can get you started and make sure that the set-up is done correctly.
7. Users are required to accurately record usage time for each experiment in the log sheet provided by the Core facility. Failure to do so may result in disallowing independent use.

1. Sort experiments are only performed by facility staff. Cell sorting experiments are complex and consultation about experiments is highly recommended, and is essential for first time sort users. Please, refer to the “Cell Sorting Q and A” for common questions and answers. For consultation, contact our core staff members.
2. Requests for sort appointments are made through the iLab Solutions log in. Scheduling calendars for the sorters can be viewed by users, but only staff can schedule sort time. Regular sort hours are from 10:00am until 5pm, but an earlier or late start time and late end time can be requested as needed.
3. As for other services where charges apply, billing account information is required before the start of the experiment.
   Standard charges are as follows:
   1. Sorter set-up and quality control is set for 60 minutes. Note that for multiple sorts on one instrument, the time for set-up gets distributed between all appointments.
   2. Late time.
   3. Actual sort time or sample acquisition time.
   4. Post-sort analysis (typically between five and fifteen minutes).
4. PLEASE be punctual. If you are late for an appointment you will be charged for all late time and the experiment may not be able to be finished in order to accommodate the next user.
5. If you have to cancel within 2 weeks of your scheduled appointment, we have to charge you for all your allotted time, or at maximum for 2 hours. Note that laboratories which plan to sort patient samples can request exemption from this cancellation policy by contacting the core manager.
6. IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ!
   
   Users of the facility are required to follow all applicable UCLA safety regulations. For transport of unfixed samples which contain known or unknown pathogens to and from the facility, a leakproof secondary container labeled with the biohazard symbol has to be used which is able to contain the samples in case of breakage of the primary container. A single tube may be placed into a plastic bag with a leakproof seal, a tube rack may be placed into a plastic carrier with a secure lid.
   
   Due to the facts that cell sorting generates aerosols and samples are generally not fixed, the biohazard risks are much greater than in analytic flow cytometry. It is therefore imperative that a filled out Biosafety questionnaire for each project is on file in the facility before a sorting appointment can be made. In addition, a completely filled out sorting protocol sheet containing any relevant biosafety information for the desired sort has to be submitted with the sort request.
   
   Sort experiments involving human, non-human primate and/or genetically modified cells require BSL2+ (BSL2 with enhanced precaution) containment. All users who are present In the sort room during sort set up and including sort must follow the same BSL2+ PPE requirements as the sort operator, which includes a disposable lab coat, double gloves, safety goggles, and a respirator mask (N-95 or higher). Note that each person needs to get individually fit tested for an effective respirator mask by EH&S.
   
   Users who are not cleared for respirator mask use before their appointment and therefore are not permitted in the sort room during a BSL2+ sort can request remote access to the sort screen to guide their operator in the desired sort gate set up.

1. Only users who have been trained in the use of RoboSep are permitted to use the instrument. Request a free-of-charge instructional session through the iLab Solutions login. Consultation about experiments on the RoboSep is available from StemCell Technologies. Please contact Allison Billroth-MacLurg, PhD at 1-800-667-0322 and allison.billroth-maclurg@stemcell.com.
2. Appointments are made through the iLab Solutions log in. Time slots are allotted in half hour increments with additional increments of quarter hours. Minimum time is 45 min.
3. As for other services where charges apply, billing account information is required before the start of the experiment.
4. If you have to cancel within 24 hours, we have to charge you for all your allotted time.
5. Users of the facility are required to follow all applicable UCLA safety regulations. For transport of unfixed samples which contain known or unknown pathogens to and from the RoboSep, a leakproof secondary container labeled with the biohazard symbol has to be used which is able to contain the samples in case of breakage of the primary container. A single tube may be placed into a plastic bag with a leakproof seal, a tube rack may be placed into a plastic carrier with a secure lid.
6. Users of the RoboSep are required to accurately record usage time for each experiment in the log sheet provided by the Core facility. Failure to do may result in disallowing use of the RoboSep.