Cell Core Facility

The Cell Core Facility offers comprehensive support for the observation, evaluation, and manipulation of biological processes in a wide variety of cell types, including primary cultures, stem cells, and established cell lines. These processes are crucial to advancing biomedical research, particularly in areas such as cancer biology, neuroscience, and developmental biology.

Our facility provides the specialized environments required for optimal growth and function of cells in culture, as well as safeguards to prevent contamination. Separate incubators are used for primary cultures (derived from animal models), organoids, and stem cells, ensuring the precise conditions necessary for each system. The facility also enables the real-time observation of cellular activity within their native growth environments, a powerful approach for studying cell movement, behavior, and interaction under natural conditions.

This capability is invaluable for the development of treatments for cancer, the study of brain function in neurodegenerative diseases, and the understanding of tissue formation and regeneration.

Capabilities and Equipment

Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory
Our laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation for cell culture and analysis, designed to support a wide array of experimental needs. We have two fully equipped standard cell culture laboratory includes biosafety cabinets (Class II) to ensure sterile work environments for handling cells, CO₂ incubators to maintain optimal temperature, humidity, and gas conditions for cell growth, and inverted phase-contrast microscopes for routine monitoring of cultures.

Our cell culture laboratory is also equipped with the Countess Automated Cell Counter, which provides rapid and accurate cell counting, viability analysis, and measurement of cell size, streamlining workflows for cell culture preparation.

Multi-Mode Plate Readers
Our facility offers cutting-edge plate readers that allow for functional cellular assays, which include:

Flexstation 3

A versatile automated plate reader that performs kinetic functional assays such as pharmacological profiling, protein-protein interaction studies (e.g., protein fragment complementation), intracellular calcium (Ca²⁺) handling, and cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathways.

Incucyte SX5 Live-Cell Analysis System

The Incucyte SX5 is an advanced live-cell imaging platform that enables continuous, long-term analysis of cell behavior. It facilitates the study of cell proliferation, movement, morphology changes, and cytotoxicity in a real-time and non-invasive manner.

Molecular Devices iD3 Plate Reader

This highly sensitive system supports absorbance, fluorescence, and luminescence detection, making it ideal for high-throughput screening and complex assay development in cellular research.

Histology Laboratory
Our Histology Laboratory is designed to support high-quality tissue processing and imaging for detailed morphological studies. The equipment includes:

Leica Biosystems HistoCore Arcadia Embedding Workstation
Facilitates the preparation of tissue samples for paraffin embedding, a critical step for histological analysis.

Rotary Microtome

This precision instrument is used for sectioning paraffin-embedded tissue, allowing for the preparation of thin slices required for microscopic examination.

Cryostat

For rapid sectioning of frozen tissues, the cryostat supports studies that require preservation of enzymatic or antigenic activity.

Leica Vibratome

Provides precision sectioning of live tissue or fixed tissue for a wide variety of applications, including electrophysiology and neuroanatomical studies.

Patch-Clamp Electrophysiology
Our facility also offers advanced equipment for electrophysiological studies, which are vital for understanding ion channel function and neural activity:

Nanion Port-a-Patch Automated Patch-Clamp System

This automated system allows for high-throughput electrophysiological measurements of ion channels in cells, offering unparalleled precision in assessing electrical properties of single cells.

Conventional Patch-Clamp Setup
In addition to the automated system, we provide conventional patch-clamp setups for more detailed and customized electrophysiological investigations, critical for understanding cellular excitability, synaptic function, and drug effects on ion channels.

Coming Soon: Stem Cell Culture Laboratory

Our Stem Cell Culture Laboratory will soon provide specialized infrastructure and tools for the growth and differentiation of stem cells. This dedicated space will include advanced incubators with fine-tuned atmospheric control, dedicated biosafety cabinets to prevent cross-contamination, and specific instrumentation to support stem cell reprogramming, genetic manipulation, and differentiation assays. Researchers will be able to explore the full potential of stem cells in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and therapeutic development.

Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting new addition to our facility!