Local Rules

Introduction

All AFM users MUST receive introductory training on any system before using it. Current users must not train new users. Please see the training link for further information.

Before training commences the PI for the user must sign the AFM user agreement form and the user must also undertake the LCN health and safety course which is run every Tuesday at 10am for approximately 1.5 hours. The AFM facility manager can register new users to the health and safety course. Once the course is finished the user will have access to the front door of the building but not to the AFM lab. Once satisfactory training on the AFM has taken place, the user will be asked to read and sign off the instrument risk assessment where upon he/she will be given lab and booking system access. Additional risk assessment may be required depending on the sample properties, for example GM organisms. It is the user and the PI's responsibility to ensure that a RiskNet form has been completed, assessed and approved before ANY work can commence on the AFM systems. GM forms in particular take many weeks before approval is given.

General safety rules

The following safety rules apply to the AFM labs:

• Eating and drinking is not allowed in any of the AFM rooms.
• Lab coats and gloves do not need to be worn unless handling viable biological specimens.
• Slides, coverslips, tips and other sharps must be disposed of in the yellow sharps bins.
• Gloves, tissues and other clinical waste must be disposed of in the yellow bins. DO NOT use the yellow bins for viable biological waste, liquids, food waste, slides and other sharps.
• All biological waste (e.g. viable cells in dishes or plates) must be taken out of the AFM labs, decontaminated and disposed of.
• Any spills of biological material must be cleaned up and decontaminated immediately. Aqueous medium must be mopped up with towels and decontaminated using 1:10 Distel.
• Spills of aqueous medium directly onto microscope optics or components must be reported immediately. Do not attempt to clean microscope optics yourself unless you have been trained to do so.
• Any coverslips and slides broken on the microscope must be removed and disposed of in the sharps bin. All small pieces of glass must be removed during the clean-up so there is no risk of injury to other users.
• Do not tamper with any of the cables between the controller and the microscope or the computer and the controller.
• Do not shine the AFM laser in your eyes or direct it at other users (laser power is class 2M or 3R depending on the system).
• Do not attempt to rebalance an air table or change gas cylinders, please ask Richard Thorogate.

Other AFM facility rules

• Every session on the AFM instruments must be booked on the Agendo booking system. Please observe the booking rules on this link.
• Every session must be logged in the log book provided for each instrument. Note down any issues with the instrument and inform Richard Thorogate.
• Anything brought into the AFM labs must be taken away when the session is finished. Anything left behind will be disposed of. It is not our responsibility to keep your samples.
• Please read the user guides for individual AFM's for further information on setting up, safe use, cleaning fluid cells etc.
• Do not use high or low pH buffers with the AFM fluid cells and please ask for advice on use of solvents.
• Do not attempt to use any AFM mode you have not be trained in.
• Please leave the AFM how you found it. If you use the CellHesion Floating scanner on any of the other setups, make sure this is removed and the original scanner returned in place once you have finished. Similarly, if you change scanners on the Multimode 8 systems, please make sure the E scanner is set back up again with the correct calibration files
• If you are unsure of any particular procedure whilst using an AFM please seek advice. We are here to help!

Penalties

If a user does not comply with the safety rules or with the booking rules (e.g. does not turn up for a microscope session without giving notice); or if a user has left a microscope in an unclean state the following penalties will be applied:

• Initially a warning
• Followed by booking access removed for ONE WEEK
• In further cases access removed for TWO or MORE WEEKS

If the problem does not reoccur for 6 months it will be removed from the record.