Policies

Booking Policy

  1. The Titan Krios is booked in 24 hour increments. Reservations are approximately 9AM to 9AM the next day, until the next samples are loaded.
  2. The Glacios is booked for a minimum of 8 hours (9:30 AM – 5:30 PM Sunday, Monday and 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM Tuesday – Saturday) as the “main” reservation. If samples are imaged past the end of main reservation, the microscope must be booked for the time where the microscope is being used. (e.g. an overnight should be booked until the start time of the next user’s session.)
  3. If the Glacios is not booked past the end of the main reservation and the main reservation has ended, the Glacios can be booked by other users who, with the help of a grid loader, can then load their own samples and screen and image if they want. Only trained independent users should use the microscope after hours.
  4. Reservations cancelled within 72 hours of the reservation start time will be charged at the full rate for the reservation, unless another user is willing to take over the reservation. Reservation substitutions should be communicated to facility staff as necessary to ensure correct grid loading and billing.
  5. Logs for each instrument must be filled after use. This includes the Vitrobot, Glacios, and Krios as of August 27, 2024.

Loading Policy

  1. Grids to be loaded should be listed in the comments section of the FBS booking. This prevent email clutter, and make it easier to coordinate loading, independent of who does the actual loading (though I will be doing most of the loading for now).
  2. Grids to be loaded onto the microscope must be placed in tube 12-3 (the load tube) the day before the session starts. This tube will either be on the lab bench or in the storage tank. Placing grids in this tube on Friday before a Monday session is ok.
  3. Saved grids will go into tubes 18-1 through 18-4 in the storage system.
  4. When the most current save tube fills up, grids from the oldest tube in slot 18 will be transferred to a dewar in LN2 for the rest of the day. Any unclaimed grids will be discarded the next morning. For example, if the tubes were filled chronologically from 18-1 through 18-4, once 18-4 fills up, 18-1 will be emptied.
  5. Grid boxes to be loaded should be clearly, and preferably uniquely labeled (e.g. abc01), preferably on the bottom and sides of the grid box. Short labels are preferred as they will be more easily legible under LN2.
  6. Grids loaded will be listed in a notepad file either on the K3 PC or the Glacios PC. Grids not marked to be saved on the notepad file when the next grids are loaded (usually the next morning) will be discarded.

Data Policy

  1. Data on the Krios data HDD may be deleted after 24 hours.
  2. Data on the Glacios offload server may be deleted after 72 hours.
  3. Reasonable exceptions will be made in certain cases for hardware failures, etc.

Training Policy

This training policy is meant to ensure users have a common training base for all users prior to using the equipment, which may be supplemented by users helping each other. This policy is not meant to discourage users observing and/or helping each other while working and training. Users helping and observing each other is highly encouraged.

  1. Prior to beginning training on the Sauer lab instruments, trainees should have been trained on either the Tecnai T12 or side-entry JEOL 2010F microscopes*. A proficiency test will be administered by staff prior to beginning training on the Glacios and Krios microscopes.
  2. Users are not to use the Sauer lab equipment (e.g. vitrobot, microscopes, or microscope/camera computers, etc…) prior to having completed a scheduled training session with Sauer lab staff on the instrument in use. Usual lead times to schedule a training session are 3-15 days.
  3. Training can take place in groups of two.
  4. Training sessions will be booked as assisted time, or with labor time added to the instrument reservation. Training costs can be split between labs.
  5. Additional training sessions may be requested as required by users or facility staff.

Current approved rates (as of February 2023) are 55$/hour. Training is charged as a 24-hour course charged over the course of the training for plunge-freezing and the microscope(s), for SPA and cryo-ET. Training is charged as an 8-hour course for micro-ED. Cryo-ET or SPA training are available as 6 hour supplements for users already trained in SPA or cryo-ET (e.g. cryo-ET training for someone already trained in SPA, or SPA training as a supplement to cryo-ET training). If you would like to receive training, please email Axel Brilot at axel.brilot@austin.utexas.edu.

*For training on the Tecnai T12 at the Microscopy and Imaging Facility, please contact Michelle Mikesh. For training on the JEOL 2010F at the TMI, please contact Xun Zhan.

BSL2 Sample Policy

  1. Before bringing samples into the facility, a sample submission form must be submitted to facility staff at least 3 days in advance to allow for review of sample handling best practices. This document should be submitted to facility staff for each new set of samples brought into the facility. This document should be sent to Axel Brilot, Evan Schwartz, Michelle Mikesh, and the PI associated with the reservation. Reservations should note in comments that the samples are BSL2 and a reference to the sample submission form.
  2. A BSL2 hazard sign should be printed, filled out, and brought to the facility prior to the session.
  3. BSL2 samples should be stored in the TFS Biocane 73 dewar which can be found under the bench across from the fume hood in FNT B.101. Check with facility staff if you haven’t used it before to ensure you are storing your samples properly and in the correct location.
  4. If samples have been lost in the TEM, immediately inform facility staff. If the sample has been lost in the TEM column, and interferes with imaging then the laboratory will be charged for the amount of time required for the sample to become non-infectious in the microscope, per their approved BSL2 protocol. If samples are lost in the autoloader, or along the path to the column and imaging can continue, facility staff will verify that the samples have been lost. If the microscope is able to continue normal operation for some period of time, then requires service and service must be delayed, laboratories will be charged for the amount of time that service must be delayed (usually the amount of time for the sample to become non-infectious in the microscope per the approved BSL2 protocol, minus the amount of time since the sample was lost but the microscope was operational).
  5. Failure to appropriately adhere to sample submission, storage, or sample loss guidelines will result in the temporary loss of booking privileges, which may be made permanent on subsequent occurrences.
  6. If samples cannot be sterilized or decontaminated in 70% ethanol, labs are responsible for bringing the disinfectants required to the facility when the samples are stored in the facility dewar.