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 (9AM to 5 PM) as the “main” reservation. If samples are imaged past 5 PM, the microscope must be booked for the time where the microscope is being used. (e.g. an overnight should be booked until 9AM the next morning.)
  3. If the Glacios is not booked past 5 PM and it is past 5 PM, 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. Users cancelling their session within 72 hours of a session start need to e-mail the cryo-EM users group list and post a message in the slack.

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 should be placed in the “Krios/Glacios load” tube with the yellow string the day before the session starts. Placing grids in the appropriate tubes on Friday for Monday sessions 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.