During both analysis and sorting the FACSAria flow cytometer makes up to 90,000 droplets per second. When running unfixed cells, many of these droplets may contain viable cells. While this stream of droplets is routinely caught in a waste receptacle and combined with at least 10% bleach to render the sample harmless, during an instrument failure (such as a partial clog of the nozzle) the potential exists for the production of large amounts of secondary aerosols. As samples may contain viable cells which may be tumorigenic, contain pathogens and/or toxic/carcinogenic dyes, we all need to be concerned with aerosol containment for the safety of both the facility personnel and the facility users. In order to understand and minimize the health risks to facility personnel and users the following policies have been initiated:
i. General Project Biosafety Questionnaire – a two page questionnaire giving details on how the investigator intends to use the facility and identifying potential biosafety risks. This form should be adequate for the majority of users not doing work with human cells or unfixed samples.
ii. Detailed Project Biosafety Questionnaire – a four page questionnaire designed to go into more detail regarding potential biosafety issues. This form is appropriate to use if your project uses human cells, live cells, or genetically altered cells.
We recognize that investigators are already being asked to complete a lot of paperwork, so we have tried to make this as painless as possible. However it is clear that biosafety risks exist in flow cytometry core facilities, and we feel it is in the best interest of everyone involved to identify, minimize and contain these risks.
During both analysis and sorting the FACSAria flow cytometer makes up to 90,000 droplets per second. When running unfixed cells, many of these droplets may contain viable cells. While this stream of droplets is routinely caught in a waste receptacle and combined with at least 10% bleach to render the sample harmless, during an instrument failure (such as a partial clog of the nozzle) the potential exists for the production of large amounts of secondary aerosols. As samples may contain viable cells which may be tumorigenic, contain pathogens and/or toxic/carcinogenic dyes, we all need to be concerned with aerosol containment for the safety of both the facility personnel and the facility users. In order to understand and minimize the health risks to facility personnel and users the following policies have been initiated:
i. General Project Biosafety Questionnaire – a two page questionnaire giving details on how the investigator intends to use the facility and identifying potential biosafety risks. This form should be adequate for the majority of users not doing work with human cells or unfixed samples.
ii. Detailed Project Biosafety Questionnaire – a four page questionnaire designed to go into more detail regarding potential biosafety issues. This form is appropriate to use if your project uses human cells, live cells, or genetically altered cells.
We recognize that investigators are already being asked to complete a lot of paperwork, so we have tried to make this as painless as possible. However it is clear that biosafety risks exist in flow cytometry core facilities, and we feel it is in the best interest of everyone involved to identify, minimize and contain these risks.