News

Updates on the ULS Animal Imaging Centre

The ULS is pleased to announce that our Animal Imaging Centre (AIC) on Podium of Block Y is in the final stages of preparation, and will be fully open to users in Q3 2023. The AIC will be equipped with a collection of top-end instruments to support preclinical animal research, including a 7-tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) System, an Upright Multiphoton Microscope with Dual-output Pulsed Laser, and a Body Composition Analyser. The list of equipment at the AIC is as follows:   Bruker Biospec 70/20 USR MRI System (coming soon) Bruker minispec LF90II Body Composition Analyser (coming soon) Bruker Skyscan 1276 In Vivo Micro-CT Scanner Fujifilm VisualSonics Vevo LAZR Ultrasound/Photoacoustic Imaging System Perkin-Elmer IVIS Lumina Series III In Vivo Imaging System Promethion Metabolic Cage System (8 additional cages being acquired) Nikon AX R MP Upright Multiphoton Microscope (coming soon) Zeiss Lightsheet 7 Selective Plane Illumination Microscope Nikon SMZ1270i Fluorescence Stereomicroscope Zeiss LSM 900 Confocal Microscope with Airyscan 2 (coming soon) Logos Biosystems X-CLARITY Tissue Clearing System   We would like to take this opportunity to remind current and potential users that we would only allow the use of live animals at the AIC with a valid animal license that indicates the AIC (Y205 to Y212) as one of the locations for carrying out the proposed experiments. Users are urged to amend their existing animal license in time to avoid interruptions to their experiments.   If you have any queries about the AIC, equipment, or policy on the use of live animals, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Michael Yuen.   Thank you for your attention.

ULS Equipment - Bruker Sierra SPR-32 Pro system

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is pleased to announce that our new Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) Spectrometer, the Bruker Sierra SPR-32 Pro Analyser, is now available for booking. This equipment allows real-time and label-free analysis of molecular interactions, e.g., protein-drug and protein-protein interactions, with high-sensitivity and throughput.   For training session or other enquiries, please contact Dr. Alan Leung or Dr. Eva Lau.   Thank you very much for your attention.

ULS Seminar - Introduction to BD FACSymphony A3 Cell Analyzer

BD FACSymphony™ A3 Cell Analyzer has been recently installed in the ULS. It is a multi-color flow analyzer that provides an extensive fluorescence detection method to identify and analyze different phenotypes in heterogeneous populations among a cell sample. The FACSymphony™ A3 Cell Analyzer is equipped with 5 lasers, offering 24 channels for fluorescent signal detection, providing a high level of cellular subsets detection and resolution.   You are cordially invited to attend a seminar on BD FACSymphony™ A3 Cell Analyzer. Details are as follows:   Title: Introduction to BD FACSymphony™ A3 Cell Analyzer Date: 28 June 2023 (Wednesday) Time: 10:30AM - 11:30AM Speaker: Ms. Gloria Chan (Product Specialist of BD Biosciences Hong Kong) Venue: Y409   Should you have any enquiries, please contact Dr. Ryan Chow/Dr. Rachel Li.   All are welcome!

Migration of PolyU ULS online booking system to URFMS (7)

ULS has kicked off the migration of the online booking system to University Research Facility Management System (URFMS, https://urfms.polyu.edu.hk/) since 2022. The migrated equipment list can be found in this link: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/uls/current-list-of-equipment-in-urfms/.   The next phase of migration includes the following equipment/software workstation:   Sciex 6500+ Liquid Chromatography/Electrospray Ionization - Qtrap Mass Spectrometer Agilent 6460 Liquid Chromatography - Electrospray Ionisation Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Agilent 6540 Liquid Chromatography - Electrospray Ionisation Quadrupole-TOF Mass Spectrometer Sciex OS software workstation 1 Sciex OS software workstation 2 ABI QuantStudio 5 Real-time PCR System ABI QuantStudio 7 Flex Real-time PCR System   We have helped to transfer user data (Equipment access) to the new system. Current users of the above equipment/software workstation can now log in the system and prepare for the URFMS online account. Once completed simple registration procedures, online booking of the 7 equipment/software workstation can then be made immediately for any date on or after 19th June 2023 (Monday). Attached the guideline for user and supervisor, respectively.   User Guide-ULS-July.pdf User Guide for Supervisor.pdf   Below are some highlights of the migration: New URFMS user needs to log in the system, agree the Terms and Conditions, add an emergence contact number and seek endorsement from supervisor through the system. Virtual ULS payment account is used for booking instead of a true research funding account, usage cost will be included in the current ULS monthly invoice. The virtual ULS payment account and invoice payment method is only applicable to the ULS system. Supervisor needs to approve user registration in the URFMS and agree the Terms and Conditions. Budget allocation and budget top-up is not needed. Supervisor can grant right to a team member to use the virtual ULS payment account.   If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Ryan Chow at 34008057 or hoyin.chow@polyu.edu.hk.   Thank you for your attention.

New ULS equipment - Invitrogen Qubit 4 Fluorometer

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is pleased to announce that the Invitrogen Qubit 4 Fluorometer is now available for booking. The Qubit 4 Fluorometer employs target-selective dye to quantify DNA, RNA and protein. This allows quick and accurate measurement of target sample over traditional UV absorbance detection. For training session or other enquiries, please contact Dr. Ryan Chow or Dr. Alan Leung. Thank you very much for your attention.

Updates on the ULS Cryo-EM Centre

The ULS is pleased to announce that our Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) Centre is in the final stages of installation and testing, and will be open to users in the second half of 2023. The Centre is equipped with a collection of state-of-the-art instruments to support some of the latest techniques in structural biology, for example, single particle analysis (SPA), cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED). To support SPA, cryo-ET and other cryo-EM workflows, the ULS is also in the process of acquiring a set of top-end GPU cluster and a high-capacity data storage server. The list of equipment at the ULS Cryo-EM Centre is as follows:   ThermoFisher Krios G4 300 kV Cryo-TEM System ThermoFisher Glacios 200 kV Cryo-TEM System ThermoFisher Talos L120C 120 kV TEM System ThermoFisher Aquilos 2 Cryo-FIB System GPU servers (2 units); each with 4× Nvidia A800 80 GB graphics cards Data storage server (720 TB usable storage) ThermoFisher Vitrobot Mark IV Plunge-freezing Systems (2 units) Cressington 208C High Vacuum Turbo Carbon Coater PELCO easiGlow Glow Discharge Cleaning System (2 units)   On the other hand, a symposium on biological cryo-EM will be held at the Institute for Advanced Study, HKUST, from 19th to 21st June, 2023, and is now accepting applications. Invited speakers from PolyU, other local universities, as well as renowned international scientists in the field will share their latest research and knowledge in cryo-EM with the participants. Potential users of our Cryo-EM Centre are encouraged to register for the symposium by the deadline on 9th June, 2023.   If you have any queries about the Cryo-EM Centre, equipment, or getting started in cryo-EM, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Michael Yuen or Mr Sirui Li of the ULS.   Thank you for your attention.

ULS Equipment Training Workshop: GridION Mk1 Sequencing System

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is pleased to announce the recent addition of GridION Mk1 long-read sequencing system from Oxford Nanopore Technologies. The new system employs nano-scale holes which detect the DNA or RNA sequence when passing through, enabling direct and real-time sequencing of short to long fragments of DNA or RNA, and also analysis of base modification like methylation.   The ULS is co-organising an introductory seminar and a 2-day training workshop with Oxford Nanopore Technologies on the GridION Mk1 system. Details are as follows:   Introductory seminar: **All are welcome** Date: 18th May 2023 (Thursday) Time: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM Venue: Y715   2-day training workshop: **Registration is required** MinKnow and experiment setup Practical session Kit introduction Data analysis in Epi2me Date and time: 18th May 2023 (Thursday, 11:30 AM – 5:30 PM) – 19th May 2023 (Friday, 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM) Venue: Y719   Due to experiment nature and space limitation, attendance of the workshop will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register via the following link by 16th May 2023: Registration   For enquiries, please contact Dr. Ryan Chow or Dr. Alan Leung.   Thank you very much for your attention.

ULS Newsletter (9th Issue)

The 9th issue of the ULS newsletter has been issued. Please click the image below to view it online.   In this issue, we feature the new Abberior STED Super-Resolution Microscope acquired using a CRF equipment funding put forward by the ULS, and introduce an Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing Platform which will be available in Q3 2023.   Thank you very much for your support.

ULS User and PI Survey Reports

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) has conducted surveys for users and PIs to evaluate the quality of service provided by the ULS in 2022. The surveys have ended last month and the reports are available via these links: Survey for Users, Survey for PIs. Note that in the last part of the reports you can find the ULS’s response to the respondents’ comments.   On the other hand, 20 survey participants were randomly selected to each receive 2 hours of free equipment usage for their laboratories in March, and the result has been announced on the ULS Facebook Page.   If you have any queries about the survey, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Michael Yuen. Thank you for your attention.

ULS Technology Seminar - Visualize the future of flow cytometry with BD FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter

You are cordially invited to attend the ULS technology seminar on BD FACSDiscoverTM S8 Cell Sorter. Details are as follows: Title: Visualize the future of flow cytometry with BD FACSDiscoverTM S8 Cell Sorter Date: 15 March 2023 (Wednesday) Time: 10:30AM - 11:30AM Speaker: Ms. Gloria Chan (Product Specialist of BD Biosciences Hong Kong) Venue: Y716 Mode of delivery: Hybrid (Face-to-face/Online via MS Teams) Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 226 222 883 714 Passcode: odhWWg   Please refer to the attached poster for further information. Should you have any enquiries, please contact Dr. Ryan Chow (email: hoyin.chow@polyu.edu.hk) All are welcome!