Cell Sorters

Brief description:
The BD FACSArias are “fluorescent-activated cell sorters”, also commonly referred to “Cell Sorters”. Through the detection of fluorescently labeled antibodies and dyes that are used to stain cells, individual cells can be sorted based on the expression patterns of surface, intracellular and nuclear proteins. The three sorters are configured as follows:

Aria II FITC, PE, PE-Texas Red, PerCPCy5.5, PE-Cy7, APC (or AF647), AF700, APC-Cy7, Pacific Blue, V500, BV605.

Aria III: FITC, PE, PE-Texas Red, PerCPCy5.5, PE-Cy7, APC (or AF647) APC-Cy7, Pacific Blue, V500, BV605, BV655, BV711.

New Aria III: FITC, PE, PE-Texas Red, PerCPCy5.5, PE-Cy7, APC (or AF 647), AF700, APC-Cy7, Pacific Blue, V500, BV605, BV655, BV711.

The colors listed are the most commonly used, other manufacturers have fluorescent labeling with different proprietary names that work with the sorters. Check with Lusijah if you have any questions. None of the sorters can detect Qdot-labeled antibodies. All three instruments can sort cells through 70um, 85um or 100 um nozzles and can perform 1-way, 2- way, 3- way or 4-way sorts allowing up to 4 separate populations to be sorted simultaneously. The Aria II and the New Aria III (but not the Aria III) can also sort cells into 6, 12, 24, 48 or 96-well plates.

Location:
PA VA: 3801 Miranda Ave, Palo Alto
Bldg.101, 4th Floor, Rm. B4-115

Main contact:
Primary Contact: Lusijah Sutherland
Phone: (650) 380-4821
lusijah@gmail.com

Alternate Contact:  Nicole Lazarus
Phone: (650) 906-9432
nicole.lazarus@gmail.com

Access:
The three BD FACSArias are available to VA-Investigator laboratory personnel and their affiliates/collaborators. Users sign up for time on a calendar available through gmail. In order to gain access to the calendar, new users must contact Lusijah Sutherland (contact information above) or Nicole Lazarus. Prior to independent use of the instrumentation, extensive training on the software and procedures for proper start up/sorting/shut down must be scheduled with Lusijah (or Nicole) and usually requires up to four or more training sessions.

Cost to use:
There is no direct cost to individual users or labs. The facility is supported in its entirety by PAVIR except for the cost of supplies which is split among the laboratories proportional to their use, which averages out to $2-3/hr.

Other information:
Written strategies for troubleshooting are posted above the instrument. In addition, there are several experienced users in the research area who can help troubleshoot or answer questions.

See also:
Benchtop Flow Cytometers