The Flow Cytometry Experts

Flow Cytometry by its nature is classified as high complexity testing. As such, choosing a laboratory to perform these analyses is critical and selecting the right laboratory the first time is very important.

Flow Contract Site (FCS) Laboratory, LLC is a specialized CRO that offers non-GLP and GLP contract flow cytometry services for all drug development stages from the research and development phase to nonclinical testing and finally into the clinic.

With our level sophistication, high quality standards and technical expertise, FCS Laboratory is a proven leader in the field of flow cytometry services for drug development.

Artwork by Abu Atienza.

We are in the News!

FCS Laboratory is referenced in a recent Press Release by Millennium Medical Technologies and Medical Alliance Services.

Other FCS Laboratory Contributions

The AAPS PharmaFlow Steering Committee hosted two webinar series (Introduction to Flow Cytometry and Flow Cytometry Validation in Drug Development) in the Fourth Quarter 2011 that were a great success. If you missed out, please visit the AAPS website. In addition, we were approved for programming at the AAPS 2012 Annual Meeting Next Fall!

FCS Laboratory has been invited to participate on the planning committee for the 2012 NW Regional Cytometry Meeting. Stay tuned for more details on this educational conference.

Our Mission

"We collaborate with our clients, respond to their needs, anticipate regulatory change, invest in our facilities and our people and maintain ourselves at the forefront of flow cytometry."

Our Vision

We are a custom site that features flexibility. We pride ourselves on the ability to customize any assay to meet our client's needs.

"Just name it, we can do it!"

Web Extras

For more information about our company and services please see the resources listed below:

• Brochures and Flyers
• Publications
• Posters

The Marker, Official Newsletter of FCS Laboratory

• Current Issue
• Archive
  

Brochures and Flyers

• Tri-fold Brochure
• Email Friendly Flyer

Publications

• Published Abstracts
Peer-reviewed Manuscripts


Posters
• NK Cell Functionality
• Shipping of Specimens
• Stimulation Assay

Published Abstracts

• Cyto 2010
• SOT 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting & ToxExpo

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Green et al., 2011

The Marker Archive

• Issue 1, Fourth Quarter 2010
• Issue 2, First Quarter 2011
• Issue 3, Second Quarter 2011
• Issue 4, Third Quarter 2011
• Issue 5, Fourth Quarter 2011
  

Affiliations

FCS laboratory is proud to be affiliated with the following groups and programs:

What Sets FCS Laboratory Apart from other Flow Cytometry Labs?

• First rate and personal customer service with frequent project updates
• State of the art facilities and equipment
• The owners of FCS Laboratory are trained on client processes so turnover is never an issue
• Prompt, clear, comprehensive, and accurate reporting
• Turn-around time unequaled by any other contract laboratory
• Up front itemized pricing with no hidden costs

Contact FCS Laboratory

FCS Laboratory is located in the Totem Valley Business Center in beautiful Kirkland, WA. We are in close proximity to the hub of Seattle's biotechnology sector, clinical sites and animal facilities.

Flow Contract Site Laboratory, LLC

13029 NE 126th Place

Kirkland, WA 98034-7723

Phone: (425) 821-3900

FAX: (425) 821-3925

Experience

The owners have 19 years of combined experience in flow cytometry and 12 years of combined experience working in a Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) environment.

As part of the AAPS Pharmaflow Steering Committee we work with experts in the field to establish recommendations, guidelines and criteria for using flow cytometry assays and instrumentation during drug development.

For more information on President and Flow Cytometry Specialist Lynette Brown, MS, CHT and Vice President and Flow Cytometry Senior Scientist Jennifer J. Stewart, PhD.

Lynette Brown, MS, CHT

Lynette has 10 years professional experience in flow cytometry both in the clinical and research settings. Lynette has experience with many specimen types including whole blood and tissue from rodents, dogs, non-human primates and humans. She has developed and validated numerous assays for surface and intracellular markers and NK cell function that have been used on more than 50 GLP studies. Lynette is in charge of the day to day operation of the laboratory which includes training, instrument maintenance and validation, specimen handling, sample acquisition and data analysis.

For more information, please see her resume.

Jennifer J Stewart, PhD

Dr. Stewart has over 20 years professional experience and is responsible for overseeing internal and client sponsored research, preclinical or clinical drug studies using human specimens, non-human primate, dog or rodent models. She scientifically reviews the documentation, analyzes and reports flow cytometry data and communicates directly with Study Directors, Study Monitors and Clients.

Dr. Stewart serves on the SmartCube Consilium Experts Network providing insights and expertise on the drug development industry and she is a scientific reviewer for the Journal of Immunological Methods and Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.

For more information, please see her resume.

Specialized Service

By focusing on flow cytometry services, FCS Laboratory is able to ensure that there is no dilution of the scientific and managerial focus because of unrelated upstream and downstream functions.

Compiled over 100 reports for GLP and non-GLP studies. Completed validation plans and reports used for 50+ GLP studies.

Regulatory history includes employment at a facility that had two Food and Drug Administration inspections and the flow cyto-
metry portion inspected by the FDA showed no findings.

Specimen Shipping

FCS Laboratory operates as an outsourcing CRO in which specimens are shipped to us for analysis. This provides our clients more flexibility in choosing a laboratory and reduces overload of their internal resources.

Since we rely on shipped specimens, we conduct rigorous qualification and validation of our assays to ensure specimen stability during shipping does not impact the study data.

Please see our recent poster presented at the 50th Anniversary Society of Toxicology Meeting showing the stability of surface, activation and intracellular markers on shipped specimens under US domestic and international shipping time frames.

Partnership

Our scientists are interested in fostering collaborative opportunities that will move the field of flow cytometry for drug development forward. This may involve:

• Manuscript Publications
• Poster Presentations
• Grant Writing

We have established a relationship with Bates Technical College in Tacoma, WA to assist in training the next generation of flow cytometry scientists.

Immunophenotyping

We use BD FACSCanto^TM technology to analyze up to 6 color antibody panels. Our instruments have been validated to meet GLP and 21 CFR Part 11 compliancy.

• T, B and NK cell enumeration
• T-lymphocyte subsets and activation
• B-lymphocyte subsets and surrogates
• Monocytes and Granulocytes
• Dendritic Cells
• Custom Panels also available, please inquire!

Bead-Based Methods

We utilize commercially available bead sets to evaluate the following:

• HLA typing using One Lamda's FlowPRA^® technology
• Excreted cytokines with the BD^TM Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Kits and the Ebiosciences FlowCytomix^TM Multiple Analyte Detection System
• Cell enumeration of absolute lymphocyte counts using BD Trucount^TM Tubes and Invitrogen CountBright^TM Absolute Counting Beads
• Enrichment of cell populations of interest using STEMCELL Technologies EasySep^® and Miltenyi MACS^® Separators

Cell Signaling

Elucidation of signal transduction pathways by flow cytometry was revolutionized through advances in cell fixing and permeabilization techniques and development of antibodies for use with flow cytometry analysis. We are proud to offer the following:

• Cell count and viability measurements by Guava^® PCA^TM technology
• Intracellular protein staining of cytokines and transcription factors
• Detection of key protein activation states and cross-talk using phospho-specific antibodies
• Measurements of DNA content, Cell Cycle Progression and Apoptosis

Cellular Functional Assays

One of the drawbacks of biomarker staining on cell populations is that it does not show if the cell is capable of performing certain functions. Cellular functional assays using the flow cytometry platform may include the following:

• Phagocytosis and Oxidative Potential
• Degranulation Assays
• Natural Killer (NK) Cell Activity

Please see our recent poster for more information on correlation of biomarker expression with NK Cell killing.

Contact Us

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FCS Laboratory

13029 NE 126th Place

Kirkland, WA 98034-7723

Phone: (425) 821-3900

FAX: (425) 821-3925

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