About the Flow Cytometry Laboratory

The flow cytometry laboratory of the Immunology Programme at the National University of Singapore is a state of the art facility that provides flow cytometric services to the LSI Immunology Programme, and to many other users inside and outside NUS.

Flow cytometry is a powerful technology that is widely used in Immunology and other areas of Life Sciences research. It identifies and enumerates single cells as they pass through a laser by using light scatter and fluorescence based probes. The type of experiments that flow cytometry can be used for include immunofluorescent labelling, determination of cellular redox states, measurement of gene transfection, and many other techniques. It also has the unique ability to define and sort out highly purified (>99%) cell populations on the basis of these measurements which can then be used for further experimentation.

The Immunology Programme flow cytometry lab has been operating for over 15 years and at the moment is equipped with 6 flow cytometers for cell analysis purposes; and 3 cell sorters. Our instruments are listed here:

Cell Analysers

• Cytek Aurora Spectral Analyser (355nm, 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, & 635nm Lasers, 64 detectors)
• Becton-Dickinson Fortessa (405nm, 488nm, 561nm, & 635nm Lasers, 15 Fluorescence Parameters)
• Becton-Dickinson X-20 (355nm, 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, & 635nm Lasers, 18 Fluorescence Parameters)
• ThermoFisher Attune NxT CytPix (405nm, 488nm, 561nm, & 635nm Lasers, 14 Fluorescence Parameters). Has the capability to take a brightfield image of the cell along with flow cytometric measurements
• Agilent Penteon Analyser (355nm, 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, & 635nm Lasers, 30 Fluorescence Parameters). Also has a tube, and 96 and 384 well plate auto-sampler.

Cell Sorters

• Beckman-Coulter Mo-Flo Legacy Cell Sorter (405nm, 488nm, & 635nm Lasers, 8 Fluorescence parameters)
• 2x Becton-Dickinson FACSFusion Cell Sorter (355nm, 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, & 635nm Lasers, 18 Fluorescence Parameters)

The lab also has offline data analysis facilities, including site license access to the FlowJo flow cytometry data analysis program.

The Immunology Programme flow cytometry lab is run by Dr Paul Hutchinson who has over 35 years’ experience operating flow cytometers. Dr Hutchinson has published widely in the field and has extensive knowledge of the cellular assays that utilize flow cytometry. Besides help with the operation of the machines, the flow cytometry lab also offers assistance and advice on the setup and analysis of your flow cytometry experiments.

The lab regularly runs a free “Introduction to Flow Cytometry” tutorial. This half-day tutorial is aimed at flow cytometry beginners and consists of a lecture on the principles and applications of flow cytometry, and a hands-on demonstration on the X-20 flow cytometry analyser. If you are interested to attend this tutorial please email the contacts given below.

Booking of machines

Approval from the flow lab is first needed before you can register to make bookings on the analysers. You can consult the calendars for when time is available on the cell sorters but always contact the flow lab members directly before making a booking.

Lab operating hours

Monday to Friday: 9am to 6:30pm, excluding public holidays.
After hours: Upon approval from Dr Hutchinson.

Usage charges

All non-commercial Users (NUS & non-NUS):

Analysers $42/hour (half-hour minimum booking)
Spectral Analysers $50/hour (half-hour minimum booking)
Cell Sorting $85/hour (half-hour minimum booking)
Commercial Users will be charged 60% on top of the standard charges

Contact person: Dr Paul Hutchinson, Head of Flow Cytometry lab
Immunology Programme, 28 Medical Drive, Centre for Life Sciences, Level 3,
Singapore 117456
Tel: +65 65161511
Email: lsipeh@nus.edu.sg