Terms & Conditions of use

Bookings/ cancellations for the FACS Aria III Cell Sorter: Bookings via the online booking system must be made at least 24 hours in advance of required service. For bookings with less than 24 hours notice, please contact the manager to check availability.

Users can cancel their bookings via the online booking system up to 48 hours before their sort.

Cancelations with between 24-48 hours notice will be charged 50% of the booked time, minimum of 1 hour. Cancelations with less than 24 hours notice, and no-shows will be charged in full.

Minimum booking for cell sorting is 1 hour after which users will be charged in 30-minute increments. Users will be charged based on the time booked or time used, whichever is longer. The manager reserves the right to alter online bookings post-sort to reflect the time used (if longer than that booked).

The Facility manager reserves the right to change booking times dependent on the machine’s availability, but will endeavour to give researchers as much notice as possible.

Conditions of use: All samples must be filtered through 35-40um mesh filters immediately before sorting to help prevent blockages. Researchers will be charged for the time taken to clear blockages, and subject to subsequent bookings, the availability of sorting time may be reduced.

Bookings/ cancellations for the analysers: The analysers are available for researchers to DIY 24 hours per day including weekends following training, reaching a high level of competence and being granted building access. Bookings to use the analysers are essential. Minimum booking is 30 minutes, followed by 15 minute increments thereafter.

Analyser bookings can be cancelled up to 1 minute before your booking. Unused bookings will be charged as booked as it prevents others from using that time.

Analyser training: All users wishing to use the MBC FACS facility-administered instruments must undergo instrument induction and training prior to commencing experiments. Training includes basic operational and theoretical knowledge, including analyser care and experiment set-up. Training on the analysers at the Kenneth Myer building is free of charge. Training on the BD Fortessa analyser located at the Pharmacology department (Medical building) is charged as listed. Users trained on the Fortessa will be given step-by-step instructions for experiment set-up.

Sample preparation: All samples going through the sorters and analysers must be filtered through 40-70um mesh filters immediately before sorting to help prevent blockages. For clumping cells due to a lot of cell damage/ death, add up to 20-100ug/ml DNAse to your sample prep. For generally sticky cells, add 1-5mM (final) EDTA to your suspension buffer. An excellent link for more information.