# BD FACSymphony A3: A multi-laser analytical flow cytometer for the Princeton University Flow Cytometry Resource Facility

> **NIH NIH S10** · PRINCETON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $399,795

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This proposal requests funding and demonstrates the need to replace a 13-year old workhorse
LSRII w/ High Throughput Sampler (HTS) flow cytometer operating within the Princeton University
Flow Cytometry Resource Facility (FCRF) with a new state-of-the art FACSymphony A3 Flow
Cytometer w/ HTS. The existing LSRII was purchased in 2007 and neither Cytek Biosciences nor
BD Biosciences will be providing annual service contracts on this system by the end of 2020 and
2022, respectively. This well-utilized flow cytometer is maintained by FCRF staff and is operated
by research laboratory clients who are staff trained to run their experiments on the system
independently. The FCRF is a well-established and financially subsidized Shared Resource
Laboratory operating at Princeton University within the Department of Molecular Biology for 31
years. The FCRF operates with two full time staff and provides service to the Princeton research
community; it is the only flow cytometry core facility on campus. The flow cytometry and
fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) services provided by the FCRF have become the
primary tools for the characterization and isolation of specific populations within a mixed biological
sample and are therefore essential to an ever-growing number of researchers. Replacement of the
LSRII w/HTS by the state-of-the-art FACSymphony A3 Flow Cytometer will enhance the research
capabilities at Princeton University and will allow our researchers to continue uninterrupted their
ongoing research projects. This 5-laser, 23-color detection system allows for great flexibility in
employing diverse fluorescence in flow cytometry experiments with the increased sensitivity offered
by the gel-coupled flow cell, multiple excitation laser lines, efficient fluorescence collection optics
and the new low-noise VPX electronics of the system. The addition of the FACSymphony A3 Flow
Cytometer will have an impact on multiple NIH-funded research laboratories at Princeton in diverse
research areas including: immune system response to metastatic breast cancer, viral infection and
immunity, bacterial virulence and biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance and bacterial persisters,
discovery of small molecules with antibiotic properties, identifying glycolytic cell types, and cell
signaling network dynamics, among others. Many of these projects have obvious health-related
implications. The FACSymphony A3 will dramatically improve the research capabilities of NIH-
funded research laboratories and will have a sustained and powerful impact on both the quality and
quantity of the research projects conducted at Princeton University.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10175911
- **Project number:** 1S10OD028592-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christina J. DeCoste
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $399,795
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10175911

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10175911, BD FACSymphony A3: A multi-laser analytical flow cytometer for the Princeton University Flow Cytometry Resource Facility (1S10OD028592-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10175911. Licensed CC0.

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