SA3800 Spectral Analyzer

Software
The SA3800 software is easy to learn and use. It guides researchers from setup to panel design, acquisition, analysis, and shutdown.

User preferences allow operators and administrators to specify options for general instrument operation and how experiments are set up. These preferences promote ease of use and facilitate unattended operation procedures.

System Start Up
At startup, Align Check and Performance QC wizards check instrument calibrations, using beads to ensure the instrument is operating optimally. On-screen instructions guide the user through procedures, then display progress and report results. The performance report displays MESF, Q, and B values to describe real-time fluorescence detection performance. If desired, Align Check and Performance QC reports can be displayed in historical context.

Standardization
Standardization mode sets the system to a master specification to eliminate variability in a single instrument or among instruments located across sites. This unique capability allows experiments performed on any Sony cell analyzer to produce highly reliable, accurate and reproducible results. This function also eliminates setup subjectivity for collaborative or long term studies with different operators or experience levels across sites.

When engaged, standardization mode sets the SA3800 to predetermined global settings that eliminate instrument variability common in flow cytometers.

Spectral Library
The Spectral Library lets users create a personal reagent library that simplifies experiment creation and saves time. An Acquisition Wizard assists users with step-by-step instructions to acquire and analyze single-positive controls for the Spectral Library. Once acquired, the spectral reference for that reagent, including the spectral index, is available for future use. Information from the Spectral Library is available to users with a simple click, improving accuracy and streamlining panel design.

Experiment Creation
Experiments can be created using a template, an existing experiment, a single-stained, or a multicolor assay, in the Create Experiment window. Users can point and click to select (or edit) an existing experiment and can easily select templates for wells or plates when creating a new experiment. A setup Assay Wizard guides users through the creation of a single-stained or multicolor assay, simplifying experiment creation.

Acquisition Functions and Analysis
All acquisition functions, including instrument settings, are controlled from the Acquisition window. Worksheet tools let users choose how the data is displayed (such as plot types), and customize for their analysis needs. Plots and statistics provide real-time information during acquisition. To increase sample flow to the cuvette, a variable booster lets users set acquisition speeds from low (33 μL/min) normal, or high (250 μL/min) offering flexibility.

Walk Away Event Checker
To enable walk-away operation, the Event Checker monitors stream integrity to identify air bubbles or low event rates that might be produced by clogs. When an issue is identified, the Event Checker preferences can be set to either clear the clog and stop, or clear the clog and continue to the next sample. A tube/well map shows which tube or well had the issue.

Autofluorescence Finder
In conventional flow cytometry, cellular autofluorescence produced by pyridine (NAD/NADH), flavin (FMN, FAD), and other intracellular oxidative reactions can cause fluorescence signal contamination in, for example, the FITC, PE, and Pacific Blue™ channels. Using the Autofluorescence Finder with spectral technology, autofluorescent spectral fingerprints can be easily found and subtracted to allow researchers to see the true fluorescent population.

Spectral Overlays
Comparative spectral curves can be created by using the Spectral Overlays function, to help identify unique populations between individual tubes/wells in the same or different experiments.

System Shut Down
On shutdown, the SA3800 software guides the user though pre–shutdown cleaning and shuts down the instrument automatically. Software wizards are also available to guide users through Bleach Cleaning and Rinse procedures.

FCS Express from De Novo Software
Spectral analyzers from Sony include FCS Express, from De Novo Software. FCS Express offers a range of new analysis tools from live gating to batch analysis. Native support for Sony spectral data files enables sophisticated data transformations and visualizations such as spectral overlays, tSNE, Spade, and heat maps.

Live Gating
Dot plots and spectral plots can be set up with live gating. Live gating allows users to find positive and negative populations quickly and easily for added assurance about target populations.

Plate and High Content Analysis
Import plate or high content screening data and transform it into heat maps, overlays with radius visualization, and parameter statistics.

Flexible Analysis
Flexible data analysis can include integrated spreadsheets, custom calculations, charting, and regression analysis.

Expanded Data Visualization
Spectral, FCS, and CSV files are read directly by the software to enable more in-depth visualization of data.

Batch and Report
Batch analysis lets users process any number of samples quickly and easily with one click. To support presentation, data can be exported directly to PowerPoint, PDF, and Excel.