ShEEP Request for a Cytek Aurora Spectral Analyzer

We request funds for the purchase of a Cytek Aurora Spectral Analyzer flow cytometer to replace our Becton Dickinson (BD) LSRII cell analyzer currently housed in the flow cytometry core facility at VA Palo Alto. BD has chosen to end service and repair for the LSRII cell analyzer as of September 2020. The LSRII remains a

workhorse instrument for users of the flow cytometry core and finding a replacement is critical. The Cytek comes equipped with five lasers (355nm, 405nm, 488nm, 561nm, and 640nm), three scatter channel detectors, and 64 fluorescence channel detectors spanning the light spectral range of 365nm to 829nm. Ultimately, the Cytek Aurora is capable of

assaying well over 30 different parameters per cell. Aurora Spectral Analyzer will prove an excellent replacement. This instrument The Cytek Aurora will upgrade our current assaying abilities in the Palo Alto VA flow cytometry core. Currently we are limited to experiments measuring up to 18 targeted parameters per cell. The Cytek Aurora will enable

VA researchers to use a wide array of new fluorochrome combinations expanding their ability to perform multiparametric applications. This instrument is equipped with a state of the art, Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) semiconductor detector array providing increased sensitivity and resolution within and

between fluorochromes. This profiling allows researchers to use fluorescence combinations previously thought incompatible using traditional flow cytometers by tracking and differentiating subtle differences in fluorescence spectral emissions. Data collected in flow cytometry experiments is no longer limited to small fractions of light

measured through optical filters. The Cytek Aurora looks at all light emitted by cellular markers. The Cytek Aurora can enable sampling from either tubes or multi-well plates each in a temperature controlled environment (between 4-30oC) and may be run in a low (15mL to 60mL per min) or high throughput manner

(>100mL per min). The instrument comes linked to a PC computer equipped with an easy to learn data acquisition software designed with an automated QC program, pre-existing experimental templates and an application for the fluorescence emissions unmixing necessary for data analysis. We expect data collection by

means of spectrum emissions analysis to be the new gold standard for flow cytometry. The Cytek Aurora will support the research endeavors of the entire VAPAHCS community. It will be housed in the VA flow cytometry core on the Palo Alto VA campus. This core supports 125 users from twenty-two research groups on campus. Highlighted in this application are projects from ten principal investigators from

within these twenty-two groups: seven Major Users and three Minor Users. These Users have expertise in a variety of scientific disciplines aimed at assisting our United States Veterans and active members of our military. These disciplines focus on such subjects as the immunological implications of vaccine response in

the aging, organ transplantation, inflammatory diseases and disorders, and virus infections, the inter-workings of immune system function, regulation and trafficking, and the generation of unique treatments and therapies for cancers and other diseases and disorders by way of stem cell biology. The Cytek Aurora is an important

addition to our research community ensuring that our scientist continue their work using the most cutting-edge technology.