Immune Disease Institute

Instrumentation/Equipment

Cell Sorting Instrumentation

FACSAria is a 3-laser, 11-parameter for flow sorting applications. The machine is equipped with a sample cooling system and has 2- and 4-way sorting options into 1, 3 and 15 ml tubes, as well as an Automated Cell Deposition Unit for microplate and slide sorting The flow core designed Aria custom installation inside a BL2 + level biohazard containment cabinet with an internal Aerosol Management System and a separate remote system control workstation located outside of the BL2 + Lab provides ability to safely sort potentially suspect or known biohazardous samples.

The Flow and Cytometry Imaging Resource got in 2009 a new 4-laser, 20-parameter FACSAria 2 SORP for flow sorting applications. The machine is equipped with a sample cooling system, 2- and 4-way sorting options into 1 and 15 ml tubes, as well as an Automated Cell Deposition Unit for microplate and slide sorting and Aerosol Management System. It also has a unique option of changing sorting needles (to adjust core size for nanoparticles sorting). Instrument available  to investigators at 7/24 on-line schedule after initial training  and passing a sorting test.

FACSVantageDiVa is equipped with three lasers; A solid state ICyte laser producing 488nm blue line, one Spectra- Physics air cooled 633nm HeNe (red) laser, and a Coherent Innova 302 (krypton) Laser. Cell sorters are using DiVa software. View the BD FACSDiva Software Quick Start Guide

 

Benchtop Flow Cytometry Analyzers

We have two FASCSCanto2 (BD Biosciences) digital multi-color  cytometers with 3 lasers (405 nm, 488 nm and 633 nm) that provides 8-colors, 10 parameters analytical capabilities. 

FACSCaliburs are highly sensitive dual lasers, four color, six parameter non-sorting bench top instruments capable of performing four color data acquisition and analysis. They are equipped with 488nm and 633 nm lasers. The FACSCalibur located at Lieberman Lab has CellQuestPro software (link to CellQuest Pro tutorial at BD Biosciences site: The FACSCalibur at Wagner Lab has cellQuest software. If you want to use CellQuest settings with CellQuestPro software you may print settings and enter them manually. FACSCalibur Operations Guide. (PDF 2.01 MB.)

 

Imaging Cytometry

Imaging Cytometry Shared Facility (ICSF) houses the Imagestream 100 instrument sponsored by NIH Shared Instrumentation grant (PI: Judy Lieberman, MD, PhD) and is open to all participant laboratories including MGH, Brigham Women Hospital and Immune Disease Institute investigators. The Imagestream100 located in the room #237 Armenise Building in BL2 + laboratory and soon will be placed in state-of-the-art biocontainment Baker Junior biohood. The Director of ICSF, Dr. Natasha Barteneva is responsible for day-to-day maintenance, training and operation of instrument and is co-investigator on NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant.

The Imagestream100 is a hybrid instrument combining the statistical power of flow cytometry and visual power of microscopy. The unique software program IDEAS allows it to perform robust, multiparameter quantitative analyses and generate brightfields, darkfields and fluorescence images of every cell. Graphics, statistics, images, and other data components can be easily copied to the Windows clipboard. The instrument implements the TDI (Time Delay Integration) System that greatly increases sensitivity of acquisition. The images' detection bands are fixed (470-500 nm; 400-470 nm; 500-560 nm; 560-595 nm; 595-660 nm; 660-735 nm). The system is compatible with a wide variety of fluorochromes and fluorescent proteins used in flow cytometry and microscopy.

Contact: natasha.barteneva@childrens.harvard.edu