- Conditions for Use of the Fluorescence Analysis Facility (Microscopy, Flow Cytometry and Mass Photometry)
- All publications that in part of or in full arise from the use of the facility will need to include the following text in the acknowledgments section:
We wish to thank and acknowledge the use of the University of Wollongong Fluorescence Analysis Facility at Molecular Horizons under the management of Mr. Chris Brownlee, Any queries please contact Chris Brownlee for Flow Cytometry, Dr Nadia Suarez-Bosche or Dr Yufeng Zhao for Confocal Microscopy and Directorship of Professor Martina Sanderson-Smith. - A faculty oversight committee has been formed to periodically review the operations of the facility as well as to approve any extraordinary exceptions to the following rules. The facility manager has the authority to approve daily operational exceptions as needed.
- The Fluorescence Analysis Facility is available to UOW faculty, staff and students and also to members of Australian Academic Institutions at established campus approved recharge rates.
- The Facility does not have the resources for sample preparation except for live/dead staining of samples. Users are expected to determine what preparation techniques are needed for their own specimens and to perform them in their own lab.
- The Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Experienced users may use the Facility after hours at the discretion of the Facility Manager and after proper training has been received.
- No user will be allowed to operate the microscopes, flow cytometry, mass photometry and ancillary equipment without proper training. The Facility Manager will determine if a potential user’s previous training is adequate, and if not, will provide such training. The ancillary equipment includes, but is not limited to, the:
- Hardware inc. pipettes and lab items
- Humidifiers and Temp controllers
- CO2 and Temp Controllers
- Users are expected to leave the microscopes, the scope rooms, and the wet lab in a condition such that the Facility is ready for the next user. These include but are not limited to:
- Properly shutting down the instruments
- Straightening up the rooms that were used
- Notifying the Facility Manager if there is a problem with the microscopes , flow cytometers, mass photometer or any other piece of equipment and writing down the occurrence in the associated logbook or via email
- Notifying the Facility Manager if the C02 or temperature controllers are not working
- Replenishing the sheath fluid and emptying the waste on the flow cytometry equipment
- Turning off all lights, including the hallway, and locking all doors when finishing work after hours
- No image files should be stored on the microscope computers and no external, file-storage devices (i.e. flash drives, CDs) should be attached to them. Digital files may be transferred to interim storage resources. Users are requested to remove their data from the FAF facility storage servers as soon as possible. Data older than two months will be deleted by the Facility Manager without owner notification.
- All established safety procedures need to be followed and all hazardous waste is to be properly disposed.
- No user should attempt to fix any equipment problems, regardless of how small or insignificant they may appear to be. The Facility Manager’s contact information is posted outside of each equipment room and a 24 hour phone number is listed.
- There will be no restrictions on how much time a user can schedule outside of the normal work week but courtesy to other users is expected.
- A user will be charged for a scheduled appointment if the user does not show up or delete the appointment from the scheduler. Charging for the session will begin at the scheduled time.
- Users who receive microscope, flow cytometry and/or ancillary equipment training will be charged both for the microscope time. The Facility Manager’s and Senior Tech staff’s time is currently uncharged.
