Research Resources

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Research Resources Histology Core Facility

The Histology Core Laboratory is a 400-square-foot facility equipped with regular laboratory hardware, including:

• Leitz 1512 microtome
• VIP Tissue Tek processing station
• PELCO Biowave Microwave (2)
• Tissue Tek TEC Paraffin embedding station
• Slide warmer (3)
• Histo-orientator
• Water bath (2)
• Light microscopes
• Knife sharpener (2)
• Dual headed microscope (2)
• Slide dryers (2)
• Paraffin oven
• Vibratomes (2)
• Tricontinent Multiwash 3 plate washer
• Equipment for bone histomorphology includes:
• Buehler Isomet low speed saws (4)
• Buehler grinding and polishing devices
• Techcut low speed saws

Research Resources Microscopy-Image Analysis Laboratory

The Microscopy-Image Analysis Laboratory, is supervised by senior research faculty in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. The core contains:

• Confocal Microscope System set up for live cell imaging: Leica SP5 (2010 model) confocal system with four lasers and five detectors used with an upright microscope: Laser lines 405, 458, 488, 514, 543, 561, 633.
• Nikon epifluorescent microscope equipped for digital monochrome and color image analysis, an X-Y-Z encoded motorized stage, Pentium computer and Elements software, as well as a second Nikon microscope with a Sony DXC-390 camera and Bioquant NOVA software for bone histomorphometry.
• Zeiss Axioplan microscope with a color digital camera for digital capture.
• Leica DMRXE microscope with color digital camera for digital capture.

Research Resources Scanning Electron Microscope

The Scanning Electron Microscope area has a JEOL JSM-6010LA SEM and uses a field emission gun with cold cathode. The resolution is 1.5 nm in secondary electron imaging (SE) and 3.0 nm in backscattered electron imaging (BEI) at 30 kV. The airlock specimen chamber allows up to a 32 mm diameter sample, and the size can also be up to 150 mm without airlock. It has a motorized X-Y stage, automatic SEM condition setup based on sample type, simultaneous multiple live image and movie capture, easy sample navigation at 5x - 300,000x magnifications, quantitative and qualitative elements analysis, low and high vacuum operation and wireless capacity.

Research Resources Other Histology Laboratory Imaging

The Laser Capture Microdissection Microscope area contains a Leica CTR 6500 UV-laser based microdissection system purchased in 2013 which combines automated upright microscope architecture, three-dimensional optical control of the dissecting laser bean and the dissected area, non-contact tissue sampling and motorized post-dissection handling.
The Slice Scanning Olympus VS 120-S5 area contains an compound light microscope with an epi-florescence capability that allows standard slides (five 1x3, or two 2x3) to be manually loaded and scanned. All system components are designed to interact seamlessly, producing a fully-automated, high-speed scanning system with excellent flexibility and simple operation. The microscope is equipped with Fluorescence components and can produce fully-automated, high-speed, multi-channel fluorescence virtual slide system with flexibility and simple operation.
The Micro-Computed Tomography area contains a ScanCo MicroCT 35 Scanner with two terminals. It has a Windows-based microcomputer for image analysis; the associated Windows-based software includes Mimics, Geomagic Studio, Strand 7 Finite Element software, Analyze, and Imaris; and a Windows-based microcomputer set-up to use with Bioquant Osteo.

Research Resources General Shared Core Equipment

The Core Equipment rooms are supervised by the faculty and are located in a central hallway on the fourth floor of the College of Dentistry within the Department of Biomedical Sciences. These rooms are equipped with the following:

• Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer
• BioRad CFX96 real-time PCR instruments (2)
• Nucleovisino image station
• Beckman L-60 ultracentrifuge
• Beckman J2-21 centrifuges (2)
• Beckman GS-6R tabletop centrifuge
• Eppendorph refrigerated microcentrifuge
• Universal 320 centrifuge
• Thermo Scientific Savant 3PD1010 Speed-Vac concentrator
• Millrock lyophilizer
• New Brunswick shaking incubator
• Packard Cobra auto-gamma counter
• Packard 1900 TR liquid scintillation counter
• Perkin Elmer 1450 Luminescence Counter
• VWR UV 6300 PC Double Beam Spectro Photometer
• LI - COR Odssey Infrared Imaging Sysytem
• Molecular Devices 96 well plate reader
• Cell culture facilities with a tissue dissection hood, laminar flow biosafety hood, and associated CO2 incubators and microscopes
• 4ºC coldroom
• Microm HM 500 M cryostat
• Complete darkroom with sinks and automated film developer
• -80ºC freezers
• Glassware dishwasher
• UV Crosslinker
• Tissue homogenizers and sonicator
• Shimadzu DSC-50 Differential Scanning Calorimeter; Thermal Analysis
• ATR-FTIR. The Nicolet iS10 ATR-FTIR system offers an unprecedented level of integration between the spectrometer, software, and the accessory with standard features like SPV, QCheck, and Advanced ATR correction.
• Nanodrop 2000. The NanoDrop 2000 is a microvolume spectrophotometer for measuring DNA, RNA, and protein. Using the patented sample retention system the NanoDrop 2000 accurately measures samples as small as 0.5 μL, and reports samples concentration, purity ratios, and full spectral data.
• Labconco Freezone 2.5 L Freeze Dry System
• MTS load cycle tester for dental material mechanical characterization
• Instron Models 1125 (20,000 lbs. maximum) universal test machine; Struers FM-7 digital microhardness tester (load range 50-1000 g).
• 2 Buehler Isomet low-speed saws; Vector-Beta, Simplimet3, Ecomet3, and Vibromet2 polishing stations; JEOL smart coater gold, carbon, and nickel coating systems
• Shimadzu TGA-50 Thermogravimetric Analyzer; Shimadzu TMA-50H Thermomechanical Analyzer
• 3D printer: Robocast Assisted Deposition System EBD-2011-05 system is equipped with a multi-dimension stage controller for the generation of scaffolds for tissue engineering. The system consists of an extrusion based delivery system that has a syringe pump controlling on the inlet and robotic assisted extrusion of scaffold parts on the outlet.
• Vacuum and atmospheric pressure furnaces for applications in sintering or debinding of materials
• THINKYTM Centrifugal mixer for de-aeration and mixing of liquid slurries used for 3D printing applications
• Fluorometer: The QuantiFluorTM-P fluorometer is a lightweight, handheld instrument configured for many of the fluorescent probes commonly used in nucleic acid and protein quantitation.
• Electrospinning system: This electrospinning system with the Spraydrum rotating drum collector (CAT000003) has a unique linear motion emitter, which could fabricate the electrospun membrane with uniform thickness and controlled orientation
• In addition, the new bioengineerng faculty will be acquiring in the next year additional specialized equipment; for example: jetlab®4 xl-B Print Station with Ultra Micro-Balance.