FACS Facility

Overview

Our facility is equipped with a BD Biosciences FACS Aria Fusion flow cytometer. This instrument is capable of acquiring 9 colours at a time and has cell sorting capabilities. Instrument details are as follows:

  • BD FACSAria Fusion 3-laser, 9-colour unit with Automated Cell Deposition Unit (ACDU) to sort onto 1.5mL Eppendorf tube, 5mL, 15mL BD Falcon tubes, and 96 well plates. (slides for future option if needed, and depends on funding):
  • 488nm Blue laser (5 colours) (FITC; PE; PerCP [PI]; PerCP-Cy5-5;PerCP-Cy7)
  • 640nm Red laser (2 colours) (APC; APC-Cy7)
  • 355nm UV laser (2 colours) (DAPI; INDO 1 Blue)

** Please use the above 9 colours to design your fluorochrome combination in your experiment. If you require assistance with designing your experiment, please make an appointment to discuss your needs.

The FACS users committee

The FACS Users Committee is composed of Prof. Brian Dixon (Biology), Prof. Maud Gorbet (Systems Design Engineering), Prof. Brian Ingalls (Applied Mathematics) and the MBCF manager (Biology). They will establish procedures for use of the FACS, oversee the daily schedule of the FACS, and deal with any problems or issues that arise.

Contact

Phone Numbers/E-mail:

FACS Facility Director:      Prof. Brian Dixon, x33526; bdixon@uwaterloo.ca
FACS Facility Manager:     Akash Jairaj, x33526; ajairaj@uwaterloo.ca

Location:  Biology 2 - 357A

Security:  Prof. Brian Dixon and the MBCF manager will have keys and maintain primary security of the    facility.  Only the MBCF manager is allowed to operate the machine.

Computer time and analysis

There is one computer that captures data directly from the FACS, which has a USB port attached to it.  All users are required to transfer their data to their own flash drives and take it with them.  All data will be removed from the hard drive after two weeks.

Booking the facility

Please contact the MBCF manager (ajairaj@uwaterloo.ca), either by email or phone (519-888-4567 x32665), for FACS service booking.