News

Migration of ULS online booking system to URFMS

The ULS is going to migrate the online booking system to University Research Facility Management System (URFMS) which is developed and maintained by ITS. The first phase of the migration, which includes Seahorse Analyser and SMZ1270i Fluorescence Stereomicroscope, has already been done. Current ULS users can log in the system from 7th April 2022 (Thursday) and prepare for the online account. Once completed some simple procedures, online booking of the 2 equipment can then be made immediately for any date after 11th April 2022 (Monday). Attached the usage guideline for user and supervisor, respectively.  User Guide User Guide for Supervisor Below are some highlights of the migration:  User needs to log in the system, agree the Terms and Conditions, add an emergence contact number and seek endorsement from supervisor through the system. Virtual ULS payment account is used for booking instead of a true research funding account, billing will be included in the current ULS monthly invoice. Supervisor needs to approve user registration to the URFMS and agree the Terms and Conditions. Budget allocation and budget top-up is not needed. Supervisor can grant right to a team member to use the virtual ULS payment account but this is optional as this can be helped by ULS staff. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Ryan Chow at 34008057 or hoyin.chow@polyu.edu.hk.   Thank you for your attention.

Tightened Measures in Response to Latest Covid Situation

Further to our email on 24th January regarding suspension of face-to-face equipment trainings and in view of the emerging confirmed cases within the PolyU community, the ULS has decided to adopt the following measures with immediate effect: All face-to-face equipment trainings have already been suspended from 24th January ULS staff has adopted work from home arrangement following the University announcements on 3rd and 9th February and our office will remain closed until further notice While our staff would stay alert to calls and emails, face-to-face technical support and meetings may not be entertained If the use of certain equipment requires frequent support from our staff, we may need to suspend access to those equipment temporarily. The staff-in-charge will make further announcements to the affected users The ULS will continue to monitor the situation and may consider more radical measures if the situation continues to worsen (including complete suspension of our equipment). We understand these measures may cause interruptions to your experiments but would like to seek your understanding during such extraordinary time. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our staff. Thank you for your attention.  

Temporary suspension of face-to-face equipment training

In view of the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases, the ULS has decided to impose the following measures with immediate effect: All face-to-face equipment training will be suspended to protect both our users and staff All personnel are strictly required to wear a face mask at all times (even when working alone) inside any ULS laboratories Alcohol-based hand sanitisers and 70% ethanol sprays will be available in ULS laboratories for sanitising your hands and disinfecting surfaces when necessary If users require technical support to operate our equipment, please contact the staff-in-charge well in advance The ULS will be closely monitoring the situation and will notify users when there are updates on the arrangements. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our staff. Thank you for your attention.

ULS Online Seminar - Long-term 3D Live Imaging with Lattice Lightsheet Microscopy

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is co-organising an online seminar with Zeiss on lattice lightsheet microscopy.  The lattice lightsheet technique was developed by the Nobel laureate Eric Betzig (Science 346(6208), 1257998 (2014)) to achieve gentle, high-speed volumetric imaging of cells and small embryos.  The technique uses optical lattices to create ultrathin laser lightsheet to improve axial resolution and has since proved to be a power tool for live imaging.   The online seminar will be held on 27 Jan 2022 (Thu) at 2:30 pm (HKT) via MS Teams.  Please follow this link to enroll by 25 Jan 2022 (Tue): https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pfs/index.php/193922?lang=en.  A meeting link will be sent in a separate email to successful registrants.   Please contact Dr Michael Yuen if you have any queries.  Thank you very much for your attention.

ULS Newsletter (Sixth Issue)

The sixth issue of the ULS newsletter has been issued. Please click the image below to view it online.   The ULS newsletter aims at introducing the latest technologies and innovations in life science, promoting new and existing equipment managed by the ULS, as well as encouraging users and principal investigators to connect with us. We welcome readers to give us comments and suggestions, as we strive to make our contents timely, relevant and interesting.   Thank you very much for your support.

Updates on the ULS Equipment Charging Scheme

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) will be updating our equipment charging scheme with effect from 3rd January, 2022.  Discounts will continue to be offered to internal research groups with monthly usage exceeding HK$5000 (10% discount) or HK$10000 (20% discount).   If you have any queries about our new charging scheme, please do not hesitate to contact our staff.   Thank you for your attention.

Website maintenance

The ULS online booking system is scheduled for maintenance on 26 December 2021 from 8:30 to 17:00. All functions on ULS booking system will not be available during the maintenance period. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Mass spec analysis service: Switching paper form to electronic form

To reduce paper consumption and conserve natural resources, we are going to launch the use of electronic sample submission form (download here) instead of the paper submission form for the mass spectrometry analysis service. From now on, users can submit the form via email to Dr. So Pui-Kin and Dr. Carol Tsang upon submitting samples to the Mass Spec lab (W711). For more details about sample submission, please read the guidelines listed on the form.     You can contact Dr. So Pui-Kin (bckin@polyu.edu.hk; ext. 8797) or Dr. Carol Tsang (carol.cs.tsang@polyu.edu.hk; ext. 8980) for any inquires on the mass spectrometry analysis service.  

SkyScan 1276 microCT: Technical basics and working procedure

Bruker SkyScan 1276 in vivo microCT scanner has been recently installed in the ULS. This system allows continuously variable magnification scanning and 3D reconstruction of small laboratory animals as well as biological samples or other materials with high spatial resolution down to 2.8 µm pixel size. For more information about the equipment, please visit here.   This seminar will cover the microCT system introduction, sample preparation and parameter settings, scanning modes and applications.   Title: SkyScan 1276 microCT: Technical basics and working procedure Date: 25 Oct 2021 (Monday) Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Speaker: Dr. Wong Rui (Application Specialist from Bruker (Beijing) Scientific Technology Co., Ltd) Venue: Online via Microsoft Teams     Please click HERE for registration (Link for online seminar will be sent to registered users by email later)   Should you have any enquiries, please contact Dr. Rachel Li (email: rachel.ws.li@polyu.edu.hk)

ULS Seminar - Surface Plasmon Resonance System

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is co-organizing an online seminar on the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) System with Cytiva. SPR is a label-free spectroscopic technique for studying molecular interactions (binding affinities, association/dissociation kinetics) in real-time using relatively small quantities of materials (organic compounds, nucleic acid, glycoproteins, viruses, etc.). This technology is not only valuable in the fundamental understanding of biological processes but also in drug discovery. For more information about the technology, please visit the website of Cytiva. The details of the upcoming seminar are as follow: Date: 8th October 2021 (Friday) Time: 10:00 – 11:30 am Speaker: Michael Luo, Advanced Product Specialist, Cytiva Rundown: (1) Introduction on the Biacore SPR system; (2) Application on studying molecular interaction of protein, organic compounds, nanoparticles, etc, for the understanding of biological processes and drug screening If you are interested in attending this online seminar, please complete the online registration form by 7th October 2021. Successful registrants will receive a confirmation email and the Microsoft Team meeting link one working day before the event. For any inquires on the seminar, please contact Dr. Carol Tsang. Thank you for your attention.