GENERAL

1.1 The Laboratory of Imaging Tissue Structure and Function operates as a microscopy Core Facility within the Neurobiology Centre. The Laboratory provides access to and advice on high-end light microscopy equipment and to selected image processing software as well as advice on sample preparation.

1.2 The Laboratory is open to all researchers from the Institute of Experimental Biology and external institutions. The use of the Core Facility equipment is subject to fees. Current price list is available in the intranet or on our website.

1.3. Failing to comply with the rules will result in permanent or temporary bans on using Core Facility microscopes.

Booking and laboratory hours

2.1 The Laboratory is open Monday-Friday from 9:00 to 17:00. The sessions on the microscopes can be booked from 9:00 till 16:30. The Laboratory staff will provide assistance and training to the Users within the working hours.

2.2 Each microscope system can be operated (within working hours) by a User only following basic training on that system. The training is performed by the Laboratory staff, upon arrangement. Standard training for Users who already used microscopes in Core Facility will consist of 3 hours training session on the system and software using test samples and additional 1 hour session with User’s sample. For new Users of Core Facility additional 3 hour training session is required in less than 7 days from standard training. Under special circumstances, part of the training can be provided in the on-line or remote session mode. To request the access to the equipment of the laboratory please write to microscopes@nencki.edu.pl. After the training you will have access to the equipment and Your account for the online booking calendar will be created.

2.3 The shortest session which can be booked at each of the microscope systems in the Laboratory is half an hour. Sessions can be booked using the electronic booking system (BookMyLab, http://confocal.nencki.gov.pl). Each User may book up to 15 hours in a month on each system. If the limit is used please contact Core Facility Staff to request additional time on a given microscope.

2.4 The sessions on the microscope systems are assigned as the orders are placed (first come – first served basis). Bookings should be made at most three weeks in advance (21 days). Users must contact the Head of the Laboratory if a booking on a specific date is required. The Laboratory staff will make every effort to resolve any possible conflicts and provide smooth operation of the facility.

2.5 Booking and operation of a microscope system outside of the working hours of the Laboratory requires completion of at least 15 hours on the system within the working hours (9-16:30), permission from the Head of the Laboratory, and setup of the ‘user24’ account. Permission will be given for a specific time and can be prolonged or canceled (see point 1.3). For each microscope different permission is required. The hours outside the 9-16:30 time window have to be booked using special ‘user24’ account. The bookings made using ‘user24’ account are not a subject to limitations described in p. 2.2. If you want to request a setup of the ‘user24’ account, please send an email to microscopes@nencki.edu.pl.

2.6 Bookings may be canceled by the User not later than 2 hour in advance, at no cost. The User should inform other Users about the released session by sending an e-mail to confocal@nencki.edu.pl. Later cancellation is allowed only after contact with Laboratory staff.

2.7 Failure to show up for the session in 30 minutes after its start results in cancellation of the booking. Failure to show up may lead to additional costs and temporary ban.

2.8 A booked session can be shortened at any time, following notification of other Users by e-mail to confocal@nencki.gov.pl and modification of the relevant entry in the electronic booking system (BookMyLab). Session can be extended only if there is no other User booked on the system or upon agreement with this user.

2.9 Workstations in room no. 18 can be booked also via BookMyLab calendar.

Fees are available:

    in the intranet - for the users from the Institute of Experimental Biology
   
    on the website- for the external users.

Operation of the equipment

4.1 Before start of the work each User is requested to verify that the microscope system is working as it was shown during training and report any problems to the Laboratory staff. In particular the User should check whether traces of oil or other liquids are absent on the objective lenses or other parts of the microscope.

4.2 User may use the microscope only following booking of the system. Microscope may be used only by the person who booked the system in BookMyLab calendar. Any accompanying person should be mentioned in the ‘Comments’ field (see image below), when making the booking in the online calendar.



4.3 Before changing the slide and after ending the work User must lower down the objective. After the measurement each User must remove immersion liquids (if used) from the objectives and leave other parts of the

4.4 Users are encouraged to consult the Laboratory staff, at any time within the working hours, with respect to operation of the equipment and optimization of microscopy measurements.

4.5 Users have to notify the Laboratory staff about failure and other technical problems they encountered when operating the equipment. When a microscope system is out of order the Laboratory will immediately notify the Users by sending e-mail on Confocal mailing list. The staff will strive to minimize the down-time and disruption of the experiments performed by the Users.

4.6 User will be held responsible for any damage which occurred during the booked time and resulted from improper use of the microscope system. In particular, Users working out of laboratory hours take full responsibility for the operation of the booked systems.

4.7 Users planning experiments which requires microscopes Zeiss MP PhotoManipulation or Zeiss MP InVivo are requested to contact the Laboratory staff at least one month before the start of the planned experiments (the sooner the better). Users planning to use the environmental chamber on any microscope, or calcium camera on Leica AF7000 microscope or UV (355 nm) laser on Zeiss LSM780 microscope are requested to contact the Laboratory staff at least one working day before the planned session. Users planning to use external SPAD detectors on Leica SP 8 or Dual Cam mode on Zeiss Spinning Disk microscope should inform Laboratory staff about needed filter cube at least two working days before the planned session. In case of any non-standard experiment it is advised to consults the laboratory staff by sending an email to microscopes@nencki.edu.pl

4.8 Users planning advanced visualization (live cell, FLIM, FRAP, FRET, FCS, colocalization) that was not covered during the standard training and Users willing to reproduce an experiment from the research paper should contact us at least two weeks in advance, if they need help from the Core Facility Staff.

Miscellaneous

5.1 Access to wet lab and tissue culture room is provided for microscope Users upon arrangement with Head of the Laboratory. User must clean up after their work and remove cells from the guest incubator after the experiment.

5.2 The acquired data may be transferred from the computers in the Laboratory after the storage media has been scanned for viruses and other malware on a designated computer. Users are fully responsible for their data, Core Facility does not guarantee data security.

5.3 Basic operating instructions are available at each microscope system and the Laboratory webpage. Users are obliged to familiarize themselves with these instructions, prior to the first use of the microscope system. In case of any questions please contact Core Facility Staff by email: microscopes@nencki.edu.pl

5.4 The Facility asks its users to send notification if an experiment performed on facility instrument is published in a scientific journal (please send an email with the doi, pmid or PDF copy of published research to j.szymanski@nencki.edu.pl). We would also kindly ask to acknowledge the use of equipment or services provided by the facility.

The following is an example of the wording that you could use: Optical microscopy experiments (confocal imaging, FRAP, FRET, FCS, etc (delete as appropriate)) were performed at the Laboratory of Imaging Tissue Structure and Function which serves as an imaging core facility at the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology.”

This information is requested by the funding agencies as an indicator of the usage of the purchased equipment. This will help to justify the continued existence of the Facility, demonstrate its value to the research community and significantly enhance future funding applications.

More detailed information concerning particular microscopes which should be included in the Materials&Methods section of the manuscript is available upon request.

If the research has required significant input from the staff of our Laboratory in terms of measurement or image acquisition, experimental design, sample preparation, data analysis or manuscript preparation, please remember to include involved person within the list of authors of scientific publication. In case you have any questions please contact Jędrzej Szymański (j.szymanski@nencki.gov.pl).

5.5 Access to the equipment of the Laboratory is granted only after acceptance of this set of rules. The Laboratory reserves the right to deny access to the User, should a serious breach of the rules occur. The Laboratory reserves right to change the above rules, upon prior notification. Users may then withdraw their acceptance of the rules, which is otherwise assumed.