Flow cytometry is a technique for multiparametric analisys of particles (cells, platelets, microvesicles, beads...) by suspending them in a stream of fluid and passing them through a LASER. It allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of up to thousands of particles per second. Each suspended particle passing through the beam scatters the LASER, and fluorescent chemicals found in the particle or attached to the particle may be excited into emitting light at a longer wavelength than the light source.

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is a specialized type of flow cytometry. It provides a method for sorting a heterogeneous mixture of biological cells, one cell at a time, based upon the specific light scattering and fluorescent characteristics of each cell. It provides fast, objective and quantitative recording of fluorescent signals from individual cells as well as physical separation of cells of particular interest.

This technology has applications in molecular biology, pathology, immunology, plant biology and marine biology. It has broad application in medicine (especially in transplantation, hematology, tumor immunology and chemotherapy, prenatal diagnosis, genetics…).

The Facility is subdivided into three rooms: FACS analysis and high resolution images in flow room, data analysis room and cell sorting room.

Services and technologies:

Analysis of population of interest.

Apoptosi.

Cell cycle, Proliferation.

Functional Analysis.

Stem Cells.

Viability.

Analysis of Microorganism.

Multiparameter quantitative trials on soluble molecules and phosphoproteins (CBA and CBA Flex Set),

Cell signaling.

Cell sorting.

Microparticles.

High resolution microscopy in flow (Cell Signaling and molecular translocation, Internalization, Co-localization, Cell-cell Interaction, Morphology Analysis, Cell Death and Autophagy, Cell Cycle and Mitosi, DNA damage and repair).

User training.

Equipment:

BD FACSCalibur: 2 LASER, Up to 4 fluorescence.

BD FACSCantol : 2 LASER, Up to 6 fluorescence.

BD FACSCantoII: 3 LASER, Up to 8 fluorescence.

BD LSRFortessa SORP + HTS: 4 LASER, Up to 16 fluorescence.

BD LSRFortessa SORP: 5 LASER, Up to 18 fluorescence.

AMNIS ISX : 2 digital cameras, Up to 12 fluorescence channels.

BD FACSAriaII: 3 LASER, Up to 9 fluorescence.

BD FACSAria SORP: 5 LASER, Up to 18 fluorescence.

AutoMACSPro (Magnetic cell sorter)

Data analysis: DIVA v6.1.3, CellQuestPro v6.0.3, ModFit LT v3.2, FlowJo v7.6.1, FCAPArray v1.0.1., IDEAS v.4.0