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Booking and Access

  • All users (except external users who only use the Facility for sorting) must complete the Biosafety Questionnaire and read the Code of Practice, both of which can be obtained from the Facility Manager, before they will be allowed access to the Facility.
  • All users must be trained by staff in the Facility before they can use the instruments independently.
  • All users must supply a Grant Code when booking the instruments.
  • Usage will be calculated at the end of each month and Grant Codes debited accordingly.
  • Any invoices which are not cleared will result in access to the Facility being revoked until the debt has been paid in full.

AriaIII: If you would like to book a sort, you must complete the Sort Application form – a copy of which can be requested from the Facility Manager. Please email your completed copy back to the Facility Manager; if you are unsure what any of the questions mean, please ask.

Once the form has been received, and if the information provided is adequate, you will receive a confirmation email to say that your sort has been booked. You will be contacted if any additional information is required or if someone else has already booked the slot you requested.
N.B. Submitting a sort request form does not guarantee that you will be able to sort and you should not plan to proceed with your experiment or process samples unless you receive a booking confirmation email.

  • Sorts cancelled with less than 2 full working days' notice will be charged a £100 penalty, unless the time is taken by another user e.g. to avoid the cancellation charge, the Facility Manager would need to be notified on Mon that a sort on Thurs would not be going ahead. 
  • Sorts which extend later than 5:30pm without prior agreement will be charged at £200/h for the time concerned including the shutdown period (30 min).
  • If your samples require filtering e.g. for sorting, and you have not provide any filters yourself, you will be charged for any filters the Facility need to use at their pro rata purchase cost.

 

LSRII, LSRFortessa & Aurora:

  • Booking is via an online calendar; you will be added to the system as part of the registration process.
  • The minimum booking period is 30 min.
  • Users will be charged either for the time they use the instrument or for the time they have booked, whichever is greater.
  • Bookings which commence after 6pm or are at weekends or on bank holidays, will only be charged for the time used.
  • If users cancel or amend their slot on the day of the booking they will still be charged unless the time is used by another user. Please let the Facility Manage know if you need to cancel at short notice, so that a group email can be sent out, maximising the chances of someone else being able to use the time instead.

Charges

The rates charged for the instruments in the Facility are designed to recover the costs incurred by the Facility e.g. service contracts, sheath fluid, plasticware etc., in accordance with Full Economic Costing. For this reason please do not take items from the Facility to use elsewhere or bring items e.g. tips, into the Facility.

Items which are provided by the Facility include:

  • Sheath fluid (FACSFlow and PBS)
  • Cleaning fluids (FACSClean, FACSRinse etc.)
  • Quality control beads (CS&T, Accudrop and SpectroFlo beads)
  • Tips
  • Gloves
  • FACS tubes for running QC, cleaning solutions etc (please do not transfer all of your samples into tubes here, since other users will, in effect, subsidise your usage).

 

The hourly rate for each instrument is detailed in the table below:

Instrument Acquisition Analysis

Combined

startup/shutdown fee

Unassisted Assisted Unassisted Assisted
AriaIII £50 £100 n/a n/a £50
LSRII £40 £90 n/a n/a n/a
LSRFortessa £40 £90 n/a n/a n/a
Aurora £50 £100 n/a n/a n/a
  • Training for the LSRII/LSRFortessa costs £100 for an initial 2-3h session.
  • Training for the Aurora is charged at the Unassisted rate.
  • Usage for all instruments is charged in 15min increments and rounded-up to the nearest 15min period.

Problems out of hours

If you have a problem with an instrument out of hours, please call the switchboard (tel 0) and ask them to contact the Facility Manager (Helen Ferry) - they will not give out a contact number.