BD FACSMelody™ Cell Sorter

Simplify the workflow with smart automation

With BD FACSChorus™ Software, researchers are guided throughout the entire cell sorting process using advanced automation technology. Designed to eliminate manual steps, this smart automation simplifies the workflow, making cell sorting easy to learn, and the BD FACSMelody Sorter easy to use.

With an intuitive user interface, BD FACSChorus Software enables researchers at all skill levels to achieve high-purity sorting with:

• Screens that are dedicated to each single step
• On-screen instructions and tips that display when needed
• Preset data tools to save the user clicks and time
• Instrument management behind the scenes to activate sort controls, monitor sort progress and turn off sort controls when sorting is completed
• Simple to read reports

Automation makes sorting simple and saves time

Minimal training required for effective operation

Learning to operate the BD FACSMelody cell sorter is easy, regardless of a user’s skill level or experience. To aid in producing consistent results, BD FACSChorus software prompts novice users with step-by-step instructions. It eliminates the need for setting up the sort streams and monitoring the sort, reducing the risk of poor sort outcomes.

Automation of routine tasks

• Typically the system is ready in less than 17 minutes, maximizing uptime.
• Fluidic startup automatically debubbles the stream.
• Sheath pressure, drop drive frequency and amplitude are optimized.
• The sort streams are focused and steered into tubes or plates.

Streamlined workflow

• Instrument settings, gates and sort settings are available and retrievable from saved experiments.
• Compensation is conveniently computed automatically from the results of compensation controls.
• Compensation controls can be labeled capture beads, cells, BD™ FC Beads, or a combination of types.
• Compensation is automatically recalculated when detector settings are adjusted, simplifying operation and saving time.

System anticipates potential issues and identifies root causes

• Filter/mirror units communicate with the software to confirm the optical configuration supports your experiment.
• Stream stability is monitored to detect and correct stream aberrations. If the stream cannot be corrected, sorting will pause and the operator is notified.
• When a sample tube is empty, the sample flow is stopped before bubbles can be introduced into the nozzle.
• Alerts remind the operator to perform maintenance.
• Sorting is stopped when the target number of cells is reached, inhibiting overflowing of collection tubes.

Save time with simplified operation and maintenance

The BD FACSMelody™ Cell Sorter allows researchers to work more efficiently and improves throughput. A streamlined workflow eliminates manual setup of the stream and monitoring of the sort, which minimizes hands-on time and provides walk-away sorting capability.

Fast results to improve lab throughput

• 4-way sorting capability allows you to spend less time on sequential runs and get more information from your precious samples by enabling you to sort four different desired cell populations in a single run.
• Fixed alignment means there is no lengthy procedure with alignment beads required at startup.
• Only perform instrument QC when needed. It is not required each time the sorting nozzle is installed. Even with instrument QC, you can typically run your sample in less than 17 minutes compared to less than 8 minutes without QC.
• Automated stream setup and steering into tubes or plates saves valuable minutes.

Minimal downtime

• Instrument QC continuously monitors the system to track performance and predict problems such as laser failures before they occur.
• The sorter design facilitates fast troubleshooting, such as easy and quick replacement of the sorting nozzle, with no need to re-align the laser and stream or run QC beads. You can resume sorting within 3 minutes because the nozzle is separate from the fixed-alignment flow cell, which is where the sample is interrogated.

Cost savings

• The BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter features a fixed flow cell and reusable nozzle, eliminating the need to purchase daily consumables.
• This affordable solution allows for in-house cell sorting, which can save money compared to outsourcing.

Designed to empower scientific discovery

Simplified operation does not mean reduced performance. The BD FACSMelody System features excellent sensitivity for accurate resolution of low density cell markers and high throughput for collecting rare cells.

With a BD-pioneered optical system, the BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter maximizes signal generation, collection and detection through lasers with fixed alignment and independent focusing.

Detect and sort dim cells and rare cells

• The patented gel-coupled cuvette with fixed alignment ensures that lasers are precisely focused on the sample stream to generate the greatest signal for optimizing the resolution of dim cells and adjacent populations.
• Spatially separated laser beams ensure minimal optical background noise and improved sensitivity from each laser for resolving dim populations.
• The sorter can process many cells quickly to improve the isolation of rare cells.

Optimized system of reagents, software and hardware

• Instrument configurations are optimized for bright BD Horizon Brilliant™ and BD OptiBuild™ Reagents.
• Laser and color configurations facilitate multicolor experiments.
• Sweet Spot technology maintains sort stream stability so yield and purity are maintained.

Reproducible results

• Using BD™ CS&T Technology for daily QC ensures consistent performance across all detectors and ensures day-to-day and experiment-to-experiment reproducibility.
• Run once every 60 days, spectrally matched BD™ FC Beads determine spillover values for various standard fluorochromes. The values remain independent of experiment settings and are automatically updated and maintained after QC runs.
• Run any new fluorochrome as a single-color control to add its spillover properties to the software’s list of reagents. The fluorochrome’s spillover can be calculated when setting up an experiment even if different detector gains are used.

Verified operator and sample protection

A custom Class II biological safety cabinet, verified to meet personnel and product protection standards with the BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter installed in the work area, is available. To meet the latest ISAC guidelines for biosafety and cell sorting, it includes a built-in aerosol management system that operates independently of the cabinet.

Management of risk

Biological safety in flow cytometry is a growing issue for laboratories concerned about the potential incidental exposure of operators to biological samples. To mitigate risk and to comply with guidelines, biosafety cabinets (BSCs) are the recommended solution.

By controlling and filtering air, BSCs can provide:

• Protection of personnel from harmful agents inside the cabinet
• Protection of products to avoid contamination
• Protection of the environment from contaminants contained within the cabinet

A Class II biosafety cabinet provides both personnel and product protection, and addresses regional standards for biosafety cabinet design and performance.

• An open-front cabinet with controlled airflow
• HEPA-filtered, vertical laminar airflow within the work area
• Exhausted air from the cabinet is filtered by HEPA filters
• Can be used in BSL 1, 2, and 3 laboratories

Comprehensive biosafety solution

Our biosafety and sorting solution for the BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter is comprehensive and keeps your cell sorting activities running smoothly and safely, so you can focus on your research.

BD partnered with The Baker Company to design a custom biosafety and sorting solutions. The Baker Company is recognized as experts in designing and manufacturing products that meet specific needs of the workplace and guarantee the widest margin of safety and product protection under demanding conditions.

The Baker Company has verified that the BSC designed specifically for the BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter meets personnel and product protection standards for a Class II Type A2 biosafety cabinet, the National Sanitation Foundation International Standard 49, and European Standard 12469. Importantly, all microbiological testing was performed with the BD FACSMelody placed inside the work area of the BSC to validate performance in an as-used condition.

• Microbiological Test Report – BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter

Guidelines

The most recent biosafety and sorting guidelines, policies and publications are:

• NIH Biosafety and Sorting Policy
• International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry Cell Sorter Biosafety Standards
• Characterization of Aerosols Produced by Cell Sorters and Evaluation of Containment