Sample Guidelines for the Cell Sort
- Human samples must be serology tested before brought to the FCRC
- Samples suppose to be single cell suspension (SCS) only (i.e. no clumps). Use all applicable Sample Preparation Tips
- If you have extensive cell death in the sample, add DNAse (see Sample Preparation Tips). It will not only decrease
clump formation in the sample, but also will decrease viscosity of the single cell suspension buffer, by digestion of the free DNA.
Sort purity and yield could go substantially up after DNAase treatment
- Add the 10-25mM of HEPES, pH range 6.8 - 8.2 (for example: HEPES buffer solution 1M in H2O, Sigma-Aldrich Co., Cat# 83264-100ML-F)
to your buffer. Addition of HEPES will significantly increase the buffer capacity of the original sample buffer.
Buffer capacity of the common phosphate and carbonate buffers gets compromised by high pressure within the instrument
during the cell sorting procedure
- Provide compensation controls:
- If cells are used as single color controls
- Unstained cells
- All separate single color stained cell controls
- Preferable concentration of the controls is around 1 x 106cells/ml, volume 0.5-1.0 ml
- If beads are used as single color controls
- Unstained Cells
- Preferable concentration of unstained cell control is around 1 x 106cells/ml, volume 0.5-1.0 ml
- Unstained beads
- All separate single color stained bead controls
Provide gating controls - Fluorescent Minus One (FMO) controls,
as proper way to evaluate the background in certain channel and set sorting gates appropriately
Sample concentration for the sort should typically be around 10-15 x 106cells/ml.
If you have fewer then 5 x 106 cells put them into the minimal volume of 500 ul
Provide extra 15 ml of the buffer you used for the cell samples
Bulk Sort - Provide collection tubes for the sorted cells. Tube size depends on the expected number of post-sorted cells.
Note: Concentration of post-sorted cells is between 0.3 - 1.0 x 106cells/ml and is depends on the nozzle size
- Tube types:
- Screw Cap Micro Tube (up to 2.0 ml)
- 1.5 ml - sterile (Cat#3616-875-300, VWR)
- 1.5 ml - low retention tubes (Cat# 3039-560-000, VWR)
- 2.0 ml - sterile (Cat#3666-875-300, VWR)
- 12 x 75 mm tubes (up to 4.5 ml)
- Polypropylene - best choice
- sterile with snap cap (Cat#1495911A, Fisher Scientific; or Cat#352063, BD Biosciences)
- Polystyrene - poorer choice, but still possible
- non-sterile (Cat#352008, BD Biosciences)
- sterile with the cap (Cat#352054, BD Biosciences)
- 15 ml tubes - any type
- Tube pre-treatment:
- In order to prevent cells sticking to the sides of the tubes, pre-coat the tubes, filling them with 1% BSA
- Keep filled tubes inverted for at least 30' prior sort
- Solution to sort into:
- Trysol (for RNA Sorts)
- PBS-based buffer
- PBS/HEPES/BSA (see buffer suggestions)
- Any specific solution (for example, PCR mix)
- none
- Tube special characteristics depend on the sorting purpose:
- For sterile sort tubes should be also sterile
- For RNA work tubes should be RNAse free
- For Western blot tubes should not be treated with external protein
Sort using ACDU (automated cell deposition unit):
- Receptacles:
- Multiwell plates:
- 96 well plate
- 24 well plate
- PCR Tubes in stripes
- Microscope slides
- Etc.
- Solution to sort into - depends on the purpose of the sort:
- Complete medium for cell growth
- Trysol
- PCR mix
- Etc.
- Sort setup specifics:
- Day before the sort FCRC Staff should be provided with several empty plates (or other receptacles)
of the type planned to be used for the sort
- Plates (or other receptacles) for the cell sort should be brought to FCRC at the time specified
by FCRC Staff (when sort is completely pre-set using empty receptacles)
