Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research

Cell Analysis Core

Thanks to a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and another from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF was able to acquire two FACS Aria II high-speed digital sorters and one FACS LSRII cell analyzers from Becton Dickinson in 2008-2009. The equipment is located in the Medical Science Building, Room S1456 and is being maintained by Tara Rambaldo of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Equipment

• FACS LSRII from Becton Dickinson is designed for advanced analytical research applications using digital signal processing and flow cell optics, similar to the Aria systems. The LSRII is equipped with the latest technical capabilities - high-speed electronics, multiple high power* laser excitations across a wide spectral range (405nm, 488nm, 561nm and 640nm) and up to eighteen PMT detectors.

• FACS Aria II is a high-speed digital sorter that incorporate a fixed-alignment cuvette flow cell. Fiber optics direct and focus four high power* lasers (488nm, 640nm, 405nm, and 561nm or 355nm), depending on which system, onto the alignment prisms, and then focused on the cuvette flow cell. The flow cell allows for improved light excitation and collection optics. The collection optics consist of octagon- and trigon-shaped collection devices, and a total of up to 18 independent signals can be acquired at one time on a single-cell basis, followed by purification of cell subsets by sorting into tubes or multi-well formats.

* High power lasers are identical between the 3 systems: 60 mW 355 nm (UV); 100 mW 405nm (violet); 100 mW 488 (blue); 50 mW 561 nm (yellow/green); 40 mW 640 nm (red)

Getting Started

To establish an account, new users must complete and submit the Cancer Center Core Authorization Form (printable form available at: http://coreadmin.ucsf.edu/documents/authorization_form.pdf). The form should list all authorized users for a specific account or cost center and be signed by the principal investigator or authorized account administrator. Once an account has been established, you will be able to schedule use of the cell analysis equipment through CoreAdmin system.  First time users to CoreAdmin are encouraged to read the FAQ located at: http://coreadmin.ucsf.edu/help/FAQ.html

Scheduling Training and Use

First-time users should contact Tara Rambaldo at 415.476.2631 or email rambaldot@cc.ucsf.edu to arrange instrument time. Established users may view availability and schedule time on equipment through the CoreAdmin Application (http://coreadmin.ucsf.edu). Please include your phone number when scheduling. If assistance is required from an instrument operator, this must be arranged with Tara Rambaldo before making reservations on CoreAdmin.