From: Neal Benson (neal@cell.path.med.ufl.edu)
Date: Wed Sep 08 1993 - 09:48:08 EST
I am attempting to establish a biosafety policy in my flow cytometry lab, which includes a FACSTAR Plus cell sorter. Since cell sorters (at least those which sort by electrostatic droplet deflection) can produce aerosols, I would assume that sorting, or maybe even analysis, of unfixed human materials should be generally prohibited on these instruments, in this era of universal precautions. In the past, it was usually no problem to fix the samples, but now one user needs to sort and extract RNA from the sorted cells, which is unlikely to work on fixed material. I'd like to solicit opinions on the subject. If these samples are run in your lab on similar instruments, what safety precautions do you take? Do you pretest samples for biohazards and if so, what test do you use? Does anyone have any hard data on the potential hazards of sorting infectious materials, published or anecdotal? If your lab is involved in doing this or has set up policies for it, any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. -- Neal Benson | Phone: (904) 392-0008 Department of Pathology | FAX : (904) 392-4693 Box 100275 | Email: nbenson@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu University of Florida | Gainesville, FL 32610 USA |
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