Flow Cytometry Core

Director: Zuhair K. Ballas, MD
Office: 48 EMRB
Phone: 1-319-335-8103

The 1,200-square foot Flow Cytometry Facility is supported, in part, by the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and is located in the Eckstein Medical Research Building (EMRB). The facility has one magnetic-based and 10 laser-based instruments whose major purpose is the identification and isolation of cell populations. 

The two cell sorters are the Cytek Aurora CS (spectral) and the Becton Dickinson FACS Aria Fusion (conventional), which both operate in a biological safety hood allowing sorting of live human cells and cells exposed to infectious agents. The facility also has three Becton Dickinson LSR II instruments for multi-color flow cytometry analysis, a Miltenyi autoMACS, a Becton Dickinson Accuri C6, two five-laser Cytek Aurora’s with 96-well plate readers and an Amnis ImageStreamX MkII imaging cytometer. The cell sorters are operated by dedicated technicians M-F, 8am-6pm and other instruments are available 24/7 upon suitable training.

The facility provides scientific and technical personnel who are available for consultation in designing experimental protocols and training in the use of bench-top instruments and software programs for the interpretation and analysis of data. Cell preparation protocols are available on the facility’s website and publication quality output is available upon request.

Offline data analysis using SpectroFloTM, FlowJoTM, DiVaTM, IDEASTM and ModFITTM is accomplished through the facility's system of networked computers equipped with correspondingly maintained licenses. Data are also accessible remotely through the facility's dedicated file servers, which provide data storage for at least ten years. The facility also supports a University wide FlowJoTM site license for data analysis access in individual labs.