Lunaphore COMET (Schlieren)

Responsible Person

responsible person

Location

University Zurich, Schlieren Campus, Room WAD K134(532)

Training Request

Slide capacity

4 slides

Slide compatibility

Standard histology slides - 75 mm x 25 mm (3 in x 1 in), 1 mm thick, positively charged such as Epredia SuperFrost Plus

Sample fixation

Sample thickness

Automation level

Maximum imaging area 

Maximum staining area

Zoom (PNG, 193 KB)

Throughput

Reagents

• Offered by Lunaphore: SPYRE™ Antibody Panel kits & Tumor Markers (see Reagents bellow)
• Other standard primary antibodies of choice

• Only Alexa Fluor™ Plus 488, 555, 647, or 750 shall be used for secondary antibody labeling on COMET, as they are specifically matched to FITC, TRITC, Cy5, and Cy7 channels and ensure optimal performance.
• For RNAscope™ HiPlex Pro detection kit, RNAscope™HiPlex probes offered by ACD (Biotechne)

Software

• COMET™ Control Software – for instrument operation
• COMET Emulator Software - available for Reagent and Protocol builder on Special VM F
• Panel Builder – online application for automated generation of ready-to-use protocols
• HORIZON™ Viewer– for image visualization and quality control
• HORIZON™ Software – for image analysis (optional)
• Oncotopix® Discovery (Visiopharm)
• HALO® & HALO, AI™ (Indica Labs)
• Nucleai AI-powered solutions
• QuPath

Available Optics

Image resolution

Available Channels

Output file format

Zoom

User Guide

Links & Literature

Lunaphore COMET

Applies to: All COMET users at the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis (ZMB), University of Zurich.

Last updated: 15 Dec 2025

• Edit/Cancel window: Changes allowed until 2 days before start. Inside 2 days, changes are not allowed unless reasonable cause(e.g., instrument/IT failure, medical emergency, force majeure). Contact ZMB for assessment.
• Advance booking horizon: Up to 60 days in advance.
• Personal future‑hours cap: Max 120 hours of upcoming bookings per user.

• Gap minimization: Please avoid leaving short idle gaps in the COMET calendar. Aim for at least 48 hours between bookings. If a gap of less than 48 hours would remain, schedule your session immediately after the preceding booking (back-to-back).

• Weekend coverage for long runs: Bookings of at least 72 hours should start on Friday and run across the weekend, if available. If the weekend is already booked, these bookings may be scheduled during weekdays.

•  
• Minimum booking length: 8 hours per session.
• FFPE pretreatment: If using Epredia PT for FFPE sections, book the PT module in addition to COMET.

Training Sessions

(first‑time user training)

• Instrument time: First 4 hours free of charge; remaining time billed at standard rates.

• Chips: First chip free during training (Lunaphore MK03). Further chips must be purchased directly from Lunaphore by the user/group.

• Reagents provided for training (1 slide only):

  • Primary panel: SPYRE™ Immuno‑Oncology Core Panel Kit (human) (ZMB stock permitting).

  • Secondaries (for one slide only):

    • Alexa Fluor™ Plus 555 Goat anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) — Lunaphore, DR555MS

    • Alexa Fluor™ Plus 647 Goat anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) — Lunaphore, DR647MS

    • Alexa Fluor™ Plus 555 Goat anti-Rabbit IgG (H+L) — Lunaphore, DR555RB

    • Alexa Fluor™ Plus 647 Goat anti-Rabbit IgG (H+L) — Lunaphore, DR647RB

  • Buffers:

    • Multistaining Buffer 20× (BU06)

    • Dewax & HIER L pH 6 (AR02)

    • Dewax & HIER H pH 9 (AR03)

    • Imaging Buffer (BU09)

    • Elution Buffer Kit (BU07‑L)

    • Blocking Buffer (BU10)

    • Quenching Buffer Kit (BU08‑L)

• General: COMET requires reservoir cleaning after each run to enable smooth transitions.
• Small reservoirs (E1–E20): Cleaned by the user who used them. Refill ethanol & water to max levels so the cleaning cycle can be triggered via remote desktop.
  • Large reservoirs (4 × 50 mL Falcon tubes): Cleaned by the next booked user.

• To keep access fair, ZMB may cancel or reallocate bookings if a user/group dominates the calendar.
• If ZMB cancels due to hardware/software failure, maintenance, building power outage, or similar facility issues, we may override normal rules to rebook affected users with priority.

For questions or exceptions, please contact Olivia or Nicolas.

ZMB – Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich
www.zmb.uzh.ch