FACSCanto and FACSCalibur Cytometers

The FACSCanto and FACSCalibur are benchtop flow cytometers. The FACSCanto flow cyotometer has two lasers– an air cooled 20mW solid state blue laser which excites at 488nm and the other is a 17mW HeNe red laser which excites at 633nm. This allows for 6-colour analysis. Currently the FACSCanto can detect the following blue laser fluorescent dyes – FITC (525nm), PE (575nm), PerCP (678nm) or

PerCP-Cy5.5 (695nm) and PE-Cy7(785nm). The red laser dyes it can detect are APC (660nm) and APC-Cy7 (785nm). Together with 2 light scatter detectors, this cytometer is the latest cutting edge techno logy that makes 8-parameter analysis a breeze.

The FACSCalibur is available for quantitative analysis applications also and is equipped with 3 fluorescence detectors. This allows simultaneous analysis of five parameters (2 light scatter and 3 fluorochromes) to be carried out. The Fluorescent dyes the FACSCalibur can detect are FITC, PE , PerCP or PerCP-Cy5.5. The FACSCaliburoffers the extra option of sorting one group of target cells from a sample.

Applications that involves the use of the FACSCanto and FACSCalibur include:

Cellular metabolism studies: including changes in intracellular calcium levels, cellular pH and changes in membrane potential
DNA analysis/ploidy/karyotyping: Studies of changes in DNA/RNA levels using DNA-binding dyes such as Ethidium bromide.
Cytotoxicity studies: including studies of Natural killer cell activity and Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity.

The FACSCanto is located on the 4^th floor of the David Maddison Building of the Royal Newcastle Hospital while the FACSCalibur is located on the 4^th floor of the Life Sciences Building at the University of Newcastle. Both machines are available for use by both University of Newcastle staff and external customers. Individuals demonstrating instrument competency may use either machine, or will need to be trained before use. Reservations for instrument use can be made on site or by contacting Newcastle FACS.