1. Opening hours

Monday to Friday: from 09:00 to 17:00; during closing time access is allowed on the base of the rules set up in Guidelines, point 5.

2. Staff
Federico Caicci PhD Facility Manager
Francesco Boldrin PhD
Sara Schiavon

3. Users' training
Before using the equipment of the Imaging Facility, users must undergo a specific training delivered by the staff and fill this form.

4. Use of the Instruments
Users of the Departments and Centers located in the Life Sciences Building "Complesso Vallisneri" have priority over users from other Departments of the University of Padua or from other institutions.The trained user may access the instrumentation during the opening hours and in presence of the facility staff, using ID and password for log-in, once those have been activated following completion of training.
Users are expected to prepare and analyze their own samples independently; however, assistance is available upon request.
The confocal and epifluorescence microscopes are also accessible during the closing hours, upon booking: all the responsibility during closing hours will be of the person making the booking.

5. Booking procedure
Only authorized users can book work sessions at: http://service.dipartimento.biologia.it/gestione_dipartimento/
specifying name of the user and of the group leader and phone. Confocal and light microscopes slots can be booked up to 14 days in advance. Cancellation must be communicated at least 24 hours before the booked time slot. Booked slots will always be billed, irrespective of actual usage of the instruments. Booked slots may be cancelled by facility personnel at any time if maintenance or repairs are needed. Booked users will be notified with a reasonable advance.Any damage occurring to the microscopes during a booked session is responsibility of the user and of the research group to which the user belongs. 

Confocal microscopes
Two types of slots are available: the regular slot (2hr 45min for the Leica SP5, 2hr for the Zeiss LSM 700), bookable from 8:30am to 10:30pm; and the overnight slot, from 10:30pm to 8:30am. These slots are bookable every day, including Saturday and Sunday.

Epifluorescence microscopes
The length of a slot is 1 hr, with a limit of 2 consecutive slots per user. Contact the staff for multiple slots, or reservations on a Saturday or Sunday or evening times. These slots are bookable every day, including Saturday and Sunday.

6. Rates
The rates can be found here.

7. Rules
Before your session:

• The system must be checked in all its parts, must be clean and without any obvious damage; if this is not the case, please contact immediately the staff.
• If you find fluorescent lamps off, please be sure that they have been off for at least 30 min before re-starting them
• Use only a small drop of liquid for oil / water objectives. If inadvertently the liquid goes on microscopes, lenses or objectives, immediately clean them with ethanol or water using lens paper.

During your session

• Log in to the confocal microscopes system using the ID and password of your Department. Be sure that the previous user logged out correctly.
• Access to the computer of epifluorescence microscopes should already be granted; otherwise, please contact the staff.
• Gloves are forbidden.
• If you need to change objective, remove the excess oil / water from the objective in use by gently wiping the lens and the slides with paper soaked with ethanol /water. Do not rub the lenses.

After your session

• Always remove or transfer your files. Staff will periodically remove the user files from the HD without prior notice. 
• Close the imaging program (LAS for epifluorescence microscopes, LASX for SP5 and ZEN for Zeiss) and log out. 
• Carefully clean up lenses, objectives, microscope and table 
• Remove slides, coverslips, specimens, gloves and other tools. 
• If you finish within 30 minutes from the end of the slot, please notify the next user or the facility staff.
• If nobody is booked after you, please exit from the software and switch off the computer, the fluorescent lamp (if on) and the microscope and cover it.

8. Publications
Please include the following statement in publications where imaging data are included: "We acknowledge DeBioImaging Facility, Dept. of Biology, Padua University for support in image acquisition and analysis"