The department of biological sciences is committed to the purchase and maintenance of state-of-the-art equipment which facilitates ongoing education and research. Below is a listing of all major equipment that can be found in the department's shared areas. This equipment is in addition to the equipment that furnishes individual researchers' labs.
Centrifugation
- Beckman L-90K ultracentrifuge
- Beckman L8-55M ultracentrifuge
- Sorvall RC-5B high-speed centrifuge
- Sorvall Legend RT benchtop centrifuge
The department maintains a collection of various centrifuges available for general use. These include large floor-model ultracentrifuges and high-speed centrifuges, as well as smaller benchtop instruments. A collection of rotors is also available. Users must provide their own tubes.
Flow Cytometry
Please visit the page dedicated to our state-of-the-art flow cytometer.
Gel/Blot Imaging
- Fotodyne gel imager
- BioRad ChemiDoc MP imager
- GE Amersham Typhoon 5
- Konica SRX-101 automatic film processor
The department has a number of instruments available for imaging gels or blots. The Fotodyne imager can be used for UV excited dyes such as ethidium bromide, as well as white-light imaging. The ChemiDoc can also image UV dyes, in addition to having blue, green, and red excitation for multiplex fluorescent blots, and can also image chemiluminescence. The Typhoon 5 is a powerful fluorescence scanner and phosphorimager equipped with 488, 532, 635, 685, and 785nm lasers. A dark room and automatic film processor are also available for film based detection methods.
Microscopy
Please visit the page dedicated to the wide variety of microscopes available in the department.
Fluorescence, Luminescence and UV-VIS Spectroscopy
- Beckman DU800 Uv/Vis spectrophotometer
- NanoDrop OneC
- Tecan Infinite M200 Pro absorbance/fluorescence plate reader with NanoQuant plate
- Thermo Fluoroskan Ascent FL plate reader for fluorescence and luminescence
The department has a number of instruments available for measuring absorbance, fluorescence, or luminescence of samples. The DU800 UV-Vis spectrophotometer holds standard cuvettes and measures absorbance in the range of 190-1100nm. The NanoDrop OneC has a total range of 190-850nm and can measure samples of 1-2ul or larger volumes in a standard cuvette. The Infinite M200 plate reader can read single wavelengths or wavelength scans of absorbance or fluorescence. Absorbance and excitation range is 230-850nm and emission range is 280-850nm The Ascent plate reader can read luminescence. There are also additional benchtop spectrophotometers available.
Tissue Sectioning
- Leica SM2000R sliding microtomes
- Bright OTF5000 cryostat
- Leica EM UC6 ultramicrotome
The department has a number of sliding microtomes with freezing stages available for sectioning of tissue for histology. In addition, we have a Bright OTF5000 cryostat. For sectioning at an ultra-thin level for electron microscopy the Leica EM UC6 ultramicrotome is available. Users must provide their own blades for the ultramicrotome and sliding microtomes. Cryostat blades are available for purchase from the department.
Additional Instrumentation
- Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer
- Eppendorf Nexus Gradient thermal cyclers
- Corbett BDR3 RotorGene qRT PCR machine (tube format)
- Applied Biosystems 7300 qRT PCR machine (plate format)
- Qiagen Qiagility robotic liquid dispenser
- Perkin Elmer Tri-Carb 4910TR liquid scintillation counter
- BioRad GenePulser Xcell electroporator
- GE Healthcare AKTA Start chromatography system
- Brandel Density Gradient Fractionation System
- Probe sonicator
- VirTis Benchtop Pro 9L EL-85 lyophilizer
- Thermo Savant DNA120 speedvac concentrator
- BioRad Trans-Blot Turbo transfer system
- Consolidated Autoclaves
- Lancer 820LX laboratory glassware washers
- Pipette washers
Training for use of all common equipment may be arranged with Lee Graham, the department's lab manager, 610-758-5683.