National Flow Cytometry and Sorting Research Resource

Facility Description

The purpose of the Resource is to develop novel instrumentation and make state-of-the-art flow cytometric technology and expertise available to the biomedical research community. In addition, we have a variety of commercial flow cytometers and sorters available for internal and external collaborative and service projects. Flow cytometry uses a combination of fluidics, lasers, optics, and electronics to provide rapid, multiparameter analysis and sorting of individual particles from a continuous sample stream. Traditionally used for the analysis of cells, flow cytometry has been extended to the analysis of a wide variety of particles including microspheres, bacteria, viruses, chromosomes, cellular organelles and individual DNA molecules, as well as multicellular clusters and small intact organisms. Key features of this technology include: very rapid analysis rates (up to tens of thousands of particles per second), multiparameter measurement (up to 16 independent parameters per particle), a wide variety of detection parameters (light scatter, fluorescence, fluorescence lifetime, acoustic, magnetic, volume) and the ability to physically sort selected particles on the basis of any selected set of parametric values. Flow cytometers also incorporate sophisticated electronics and computer software for multiparameter data collection, analysis, and display.

The Resource has unique capabilities in the following areas:

• Chromosome analysis and sorting
• High-sensitivity analysis
• Acoustic analysis and particle manipulation
• Magnetic detection and particle manipulation
• Phase-sensitive fluorescence analysis and lifetime measurement
• Full spectral resolution analysis
• Low-cost, portable instrumentation
• Completely digital data acquisition and analysis systems

The research fields under investigation at the Resource include:

• Cell and cancer biology
• Protein engineering and analysis
• Protease screening and analysis
• Microbial analysis and identification
• Bacterial fingerprinting and forensics
• High-throughput sample analysis
• Low-cost instrumentation
• Advanced instrumentation development
• Digital data acquisition and analysis

The Resource is funded as a Biomedical Technology Resource Center by the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health. All instrumentation and staff are available to assist the biomedical research community in the application of flow cytometry and to respond to unique research requirements. A local review committee approves Collaborative and Service projects after completion of a simple application form available on the NFCR website (http://nfcr.lanl.gov/).

Equipment

The Resource has a variety of unique developmental instruments available for collaborative projects:

• A high-sensitivity analyzer
• A phase-sensitive cytometer for fluorescence lifetime analysis
• A rapid-mix cytometer for kinetic analysis
• A full spectral resolution cytometer for multispectral analysis
• An acoustic focusing cytometer
• A dedicated DNA fragment analysis instrument

In addition, the Resource has a variety of commercial instruments available for collaborative and service projects:

• A BD FACSAria high-speed, multiparameter cell sorter
• A BD FACSVantage multiparameter cell sorter
• A BD LSRII multiparameter analyzer with multiwell sampling
• Two BD FACSCalibur analysis instruments
• A Luminex bead array analyzer
• A spectrofluorometer

In addition, the Resource has a fully digital data acquisition and analysis system (ORCA: Open Reconfigurable Cytometry Analysis) available for interfacing to a wide variety of analog and digital detectors.  More detail on the Resource instrumentation, R&D projects, staff and collaborators is available on the NFCR website (http://nfcr.lanl.gov/).

Facility Access

Open

Last update: January 23, 2007

Technical Contact
James P. Freyer, Director
National Flow Cytometry Resource
Bioscience Division
Mail Stop M888
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM 87545
Phone: 505-667-8229
Fax: 505-665-3024
Email: freyer@lanl.gov