This application requests funds for the purchase of a BD FACSAria II flow cytometer / cell sorter. This application arises from the breakdown of the current flow cytometer, and from a growing demand for flow cytometric cell sorting services among a user group of thirteen investigators from five of the eight departments at Forsyth. In the past two decades, flow cytometry has become an invaluable tool for the research projects at Forsyth and numerous publications from different laboratories demonstrate this instrument as an indispensible component to achieve the research goals. These investigators'needs for multiplexing analysis functions (60%) and cell sorting (40%) are not satisfied by the obsolete EPICS Altra flow cytometer (10 years old) currently in place. Other facilities in the vicinity (at least 2 miles away) can't meet our investigators'demand for day-to-day usage because of: 1) limited user time due to saturated capacity in other institutes;2) pricy service fee incurred in other institutes, especially for sorting;3) back- and-forth transportation of samples leading to concerns of contamination and cell viability. Investigators frequently express frustration for not being able to reliably process precious cell samples in a timely fashion. The participants in this application represent a majority (56%) of the NIH-funded investigators at this institute, and the projects that will benefit from the new instrument represent a majority of the NIH grant (59%) awarded to Forsyth. The requested instrument will thus assure optimal use of the funding from existing NIH-supported investigators. Use of the instrument will be managed by the principle investigator, Director of the Flow Cytometry/ Cell Sorting Core, and 1 other back-up coordinators with extensive experience in flow cytometry, and monitored by an advisory committee through a group of five experienced investigators. These investigators will also share their expertise in flow cytometry with other existing or new users to enhance their research projects by taking the full advantage of the instrument. A designated technician will be recruited and will be responsible for the routine operation and maintenance of the instrument under the supervision of the PI and Director of the core. Forsyth has expressed a firm commitment to the support of this instrument in terms of personnel support, space, computer and networking support, and provision of service contracts.
The requested flow cytometer / cell sorter is able to analyze thousands of microscopic particles every second, in """"""""real time"""""""" in a stream of fluid, and can actively separate and isolate cells having specified properties. The technology has become an essential tool for many biomedical studies and has broad applications in research, including molecular biology, pathology, immunology, microbiology, as well as in medicine, such as transplantation, hematology, tumor immunology and chemotherapy, and human genetics.
