Flow Cytometry Facilities
The Flow Cytometry Facilities at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, play a vital role in our work to better understand the fundamentals of cancer biology and immunology, and is helping to guide new research in biomarkers and drug discovery.
Image: ICR scientists analysing and sorting cells using Sony MA900 cell sorter. Credits: ICR
Flow cytometry is a single cell technology to detect and analyse the physical and chemical characteristics of cells and particles, as part of a high throughput multiparameter system. The ICR’s flow cytometry equipment supports the research of both our internal users – at the ICR and our partner hospital The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust – and external researchers from universities, other research institutes and industry.
Our Flow Cytometry Facilities are also supported by an expert team in flow cytometry, based across both our Chelsea and Sutton sites.
Our Flow Cytometry Facilities consist of state-of-the-art instruments which support a wide range of studies in cancer-related research fields, such as immunology and inflammation biology, stem cell research, clinical trials, biomarker discovery, drug discovery and small particle studies.
Our instruments include cell analysers such as BD LSR II and BD Symphony A5 (in Chelsea and Sutton) and CytoFLEX LX (Chelsea). We are also equipped with high-end cell sorters such as BD Symphony S6 (Chelsea and Sutton) and Sony Cell Sorters SH800 (Sutton) and MA900 (Chelsea).
We provide full training and support on all our analysers and Sony Cell sorters, to which users have 24/7 access post-training. The BD Symphony S6 cell sorting is a dedicated service provided by the flow cytometry team, which will set-up, analyse and sort cells for our users for various post-sorting application. In addition, our facility also host BD Rhapsody for single cell genomics works in Chelsea where full service is provided in collaboration with our Genomics Facility.
In addition to training and cell sorting, our team supports researchers with experiment set-up and compensation, panel design, technical support and troubleshooting, applications such as immunophenotyping, cell cycle analysis, cell proliferation assay, apoptosis, phagocytosis and data analysis. We also regularly host seminars and webinars on various aspects of flow cytometry, such as high parameter experiments, panel design, protocol development, data analysis, and new technology and platforms.
“Using flow panels developed for the Centre for Translational Immunotherapy (CTI), we are now able to characterise both the lymphocyte and myeloid cell compartment of the tumour immune infiltrate in mice. Working with the outstanding team at the Flow Cytometry Core Facility on the FACSymphony A5 platform allows us to produce reliable and reproducible data.”
– Dr Erik Wennerberg, Team Leader, Radiation-enhanced Immunotherapy
‘’We are investigating the role of phenotypic plasticity in neuroblastoma; to achieve our goals, the equipment and know-how provided by the ICR’s Flow Cytometry facility have been of extreme importance and supported us throughout our experiments.’’
– Dr Cecilia Roux, Postdoctoral Training Fellow, Preclinical Modelling of Paediatric Cancer Evolution
For more information, please contact [email protected] or Hira Ale, our Facility Manager.
Team
- Bhagyashree Satam, Research Assistant Flow Cytometry (SO), Primarily Chelsea based
- Sitara Ballal, Research Assistant Flow Cytometry (SO), Primarily Sutton based
- Yuliya Semochkina, Senior Research Assistant Flow Cytometry (HSO), Primarily Chelsea based
- Shruti Daga, Senior Research Assistant Flow Cytometry (HSO), Primarily Sutton based
- Hira Ale, Flow Cytometry Facility Manager, Chelsea and Sutton
Academic Lead: Dr Astero Klampatsa
Head of Core Research Facilities: Dr Tina Daviter
High through-put multiparameter analysis system with integrated high-throughput plate (24,48,96 V/U and flat bottom plates + 384-well microplates) and FACS tube (x40 automatic) analyser. Equipped with 5 lasers and 30 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC. Ideal for High through-put multiparameter analysis and applications such as Phenotyping, Immunophenotyping, Cell Cycle analysis, Cell Proliferation Assay, Cell Apoptosis etc. The software also has integrated work-flow for Cell Cycle Analysis and Cell Proliferation assays as well as software operated & controlled StartUp, Calibration, Cleaning and Shutdown features.
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High through-put multiparameter analysis system, equipped with 4/3 laser system with 14/12 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC, and ideal for applications such as phenotyping, immunophenotyping, cell cycle analysis, cell proliferation assay, cell apoptosis.
High through-put multiparameter analysis system with high-throughput plate reader (96 well plate) and equipped with 5/6 laser system with 28/31 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC. It is used in phenotyping, immunophenotyping, cell cycle analysis and other assays.
High through-put multiparameter analysis system with integrated high-throughput plate reader (96 well plate) and equipped with 5 laser system with 19 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC. It is ideal for phenotyping, immunophenotyping, cell cycle analysis and other applications.
High through-put multiparameter analysis and cell sorting system, equipped with 4 laser system with 12 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC. It can sort up to 4 distinct target populations simultaneously and accommodate various sorting devices. It is ideal for post-sorting applications such cell culture, sequencing, animal work etc.
High through-put multiparameter analysis and cell sorting system, equipped with 2 laser system with 6 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC, which can sort up to 2 distinct target populations simultaneously. It is ideal for post-sorting applications.
High through-put multiparameter analysis and cell sorting system, equipped with 6/5 laser system with 22/21 fluorescent channels + FSC and SSC, which can sort up to 6 distinct target populations simultaneously. It can accommodate various sorting devices and is ideal for post-sorting applications.
The BD Rhapsody™ Express System enables single-cell capture and barcoding of hundreds to thousands of single cells for analysis of genomic and proteomic information, using proprietary, gentle, robust microwell-based single-cell partitioning technology.
