Biomedical Engineering Shared Laboratories

Pressure chamber used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting to high pressure saturated steam.  The autoclave is used to sterilize supplies, liquids and biohazardous waste.

A benchtop cell sorter that offers bulk or single cell sorting using disposable cartridges and utilizing 2 lasers (488nm, 561nm) which can handle up to nine colors.

Tabletop centrifuges (5804R, 5424, 5810R, 5702) are capable of reaching speeds of 4,400 rpm (5702), 12,000 rpm (5804R, 5810R), and 15,000 rpm (5424) with 5804R and 5810R both being refrigerated.

PCB prototyping system that can structure single or double-sided circuit boards, drill holes, perform contour milling and engrave front panels. Max material size (x,y,z): 230mm x 310mm x 10mm Mechanical resolution (x,y): 0.8um (0.04 mil).

Designed to function as a high-throughput imaging system with an 8-position filter wheel and a 5-position dichroic wheel, single disk unit allowing for imaging in two modes: confocal, using a 60 μm pinhole, and widefield. The IXM has been outfitted with environmental control for gas (CO2 and nitrogen) and temperature for experiments that require incubation.

Objectives: 2X PLAN APO LAMBDA (with 0.10 NA and 8.5 mm WD), 10X PLAN APO LAMBDA (with 0.45 NA), 20X Ph1 S Plan Fluor ELWD ADM 0.45 NM, and 40X PLAN APO LAMBDA (with 0.95 NA and 0.25 mm to 0.16 mm WD with correction). The IXM has filter sets for the following fluorophores installed: Cy3, Texas Red, DAPI, Cy5, and FITC.

Performs fine sectioning (1µm-100µm) of tissues or other material at temperatures from -35°C-0°C for histology.

Enclosed microscopy unit and plate reader. Filter cubes: DAPI 377/447, GFP 469/525, RFP 531/593, CY5 628/685. Objectives: 4X, 20X, 60X. HTRF Filter Set: EX 330/80 – EM 620/10, 665/8 – DM 365.

Uses heat transfer to measure properties of a sample such as thermal stability and heat capacity at temperatures from ambient to 400°C.  Discovery 250 model includes autosampler.

Measures mechanical properties of materials as function of time, temperature, and frequency. (dual cantilever, tension – film and compression clamps available).

Needle system that prepares various fibrous architectures with controlled fiber diameter and orientation.  Plate collector: 200x200mm. Includes EFA015 Hi-Speed Rotation Drum (diameter 150mm x length 250mm) for tubular matrix production, EFA010 Modular Rotating Collector with chuck attachment that allows for the use of custom mandrels (included mandrel diameters: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10mm) and EFA150 Fume Hood.

For routine measurements of film thickness and refractive index by measuring change in polarization as light reflects or transmits.

FDA approved, room temperature sterilizer that utilizes ethylene oxide gas as the sterilant. A standard cycle is 12 hours with a 2 hour bag ventilation cycle. A 24 hour additional aeration option is available for gas absorbent items. Users must provide sterile wrap or pouches for their items. All other consumables are provided.

A compact flow cytometer intended for both phenotypic analysis with fluorescent antibodies and functional analysis of fluorescently labeled cells.  System includes 16 channels, 3 lasers (405, 488, 640nm), autosampler, chill 5 rack, and chill 96 rack.

Manual inverted microscope intended for imaging cell culture in petri dishes, chamber slides or multiwell plates, as well as fixed slides. Contrast techniques include Brightfield, Phase Contrast, DIC (20x only), Fluorescence with LED light source. Objectives: 5x, 10x, 20x, and 40x – all phase and compatible with coverslips or plastic vessels. Fluorescence Filter Sets: Filter Set 43 (Cy3/Rhoadamine/Alexa 546), 38 (GFP/Alexa 488), and 49 (DAPI). Axiocam 503 mono camera intended for phase contrast, DIC, and optimized for fluorescence imaging with ZEN software for basic measurement functionality as well as the ability to take time lapse images.

Manual inverted microscope intended for imaging cell culture in petri dishes, chamber slides or multiwell plates, as well as fixed slides. Axiocam 212 color camera. Labscope software with multi channel, cell confluency and cell counting teaching modules.
Objectives: 5x, 10x, 20x, 40x
Brightfield; Phase contrast; Fluorescence
Excitation: 385, 470, 565, and 625 nm
Emission: 425/30, 514/30, 592/25, and 709/100 nm
This set allows for the following fluorophores:
Blue (EX 385): DAPI, Hoechst 33342, Alexa Fluor 350.
Green (EX 470): FITC, eGFP, Alexa Fluor 488, Calcein, FM1-43, Fluo4.
Orange/Red (EX 565): TRITC, Cy3, tdTomato, Alexa Fluor 555, DsRed.
Far Red (EX 625): Cy5, Alexa Fluor 647, DRAQ5, ToTo-3
The set is specifically configured to prevent emission overlap, making it ideal for four-channel imaging, often referred to as the “”DAPI/FITC/TRITC/Cy5″” or “”DAPI/GFP/Cy3/Cy5″” set.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to measure absorption and transmission peaks of the components in a sample. Sampling module attachment includes KBr pellet holder for analysis of powders and thin films. The ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) attachment is used for measurement of solids and liquids.

Automated gel imaging instrument for DNA gels and fluorescence imaging on a couple of different filter options.

Note: Equipment only available to BME students/staff and their collaborators. Contains 18 imaging channels, including white light, luminescence (bioluminescence and chemiluminescence), and fluorescence (near-infrared/visible). More specifically, it has 4 laser channels (488nm, 520nm, 700nm, 800nm), a chemiluminescence channel, 4 epiluminescence and 4 transluminescence channels (470nm, 525nm, 630nm, RGB). It is capable of imaging membranes, plate-based assays, slides, nucleic acid gels, and protein gels.

The instron allows for mechanical testing of samples using 1kN and 10kN load cells to test compression, tension, 90* angle peel, flexure, puncture, and joystick controls.

Optical microscope with a large depth-of-field, LIBS elemental analyzer and advanced measurement capabilities such as depth mapping.  20x to 6000x magnification.  12MP resolution.

This inverted microscope can perform color brightfield, phase contrast and fluorescence imaging with 4X, 10X, 20X or 40X objectives on well plates or slides.  Available filters include: GFP, DAPI, Texas Red, CY7.  This equipment uses laser autofocus and can perform montage and Z-stacking.

Benchtop freeze dryer used to freeze the material and reduce the surrounding pressure so that the frozen water will sublimate from solid phase to gas phase. This is most often used in samples that will be imaged under SEM and need to preserve their structure.

Accurately cuts sections of a defined thickness from 1 to 50 µm.

Performs colorimetric assays (BCA, Bradford, Lowry, Pierce 660) on 1-2 µL samples or cuvettes.

Performs broad spectrum fluorescent analysis using sample sizes as small as 1uL.

A high-throughput mechanical characterization instrument that performs automated indentation mapping of single cells, 3D cell culture models, engineered tissues, hydrogels, and thin films in well plates (up to 2 x 96-well plates). This nanoindenter can also analyze samples in air using slides and includes a 20x objective for optical imaging.  This unit currently does not have fluorescence or CO2/humidity control.  Indentation capabilities:  Probe force range (200pN – 2mN), Stiffness range (10Pa – 1GPa), Indentation stroke (up to 100um at 0.5nm resolution), Tip size and geometry (3um-250um, spherical), Contact size diameter (1um – 100um).

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis visualizes and analyzes particles in liquids using the relationship between Brownian motion to particle size by scattering laser light and recording video for analysis. Can see extremely small particles (down to 10 nm).

Contact angle meter used for highly accurate measurements of static and dynamic contact angle, surface free energy, surface and interfacial tension, and temperature-controlled measurements from around 0°C-100°C.  Extended temperatures available upon request.

Remove organic contaminants, render surfaces hydrophilic, promote adhesion, etc using O2 chemical reactions in a chamber.

Used to find stress, strain, modulus, or viscosity data using a cone and plate with set parameters such as shear, temperature, oscillation, etc.

Same capabilities as MCR 301 model with addition of ability to make tribology measurements.

The surface of a specimen is scanned by a beam of electrons that are reflected by a secondary or backscattered detector to form an image. The unit can operate in either high or low vacuum modes and includes backscatter and secondary electron detectors. Magnification: 10-20,000x.

Utilizes a high-intensity xenon lamp and dual-beam optical geometry. The instrument fires pulses of light only when taking a measurement and provides strong illumination from the UV to the near-IR region of the spectrum.

Programmable system with sound enclosure that processes 0.5-15 mL (with current probe) for up to 10 hours for use with cell disruption, protein extraction, DNA shearing/ChIP assay. 120 watts, pulse mode (1 second to 59 seconds). 180 µm maximum amplitude range with current probe.

Used to coat non-conducting samples with a conductive gold layer for standard SEM imaging.

Enclosed plate reader with absorbance, fluorescence, and luminescence read modes. Monochromator-based optics. Absorbance read mode wavelength range: 230 nm – 1000 nm. Fluorescence read mode wavelength parameters: Excitation 230-850 nm, Emission 280-850 nm. Luminescence wavelength range: 380 – 600 nm.

Standalone Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine that has a 0.2mL tube block for up to 25 samples.  The temperature range of the block is 4°C-99°C with a 3°C/s heating rate.

A Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) thermocycler that allows for running different assays in parallel, one in a 32-well block and one in a 64-well block.  It can handle 32 or 64 0.2mL PCR tubes or up to 10 or 24 0.5mL PCR tubes.  The temperature range of the block is 4°C-99°C with a 3°C/s heating rate.

The TGA measures weight changes of a sample as function of time or temperature under a controlled atmosphere (under nitrogen). Usually for measuring thermal stability or composition.

The TMA measures changes in the dimension of a sample as a function of time, temperature (Ambient to 1000 °C), and force (0.001N to 1N) in a controlled atmosphere. TMA can measure Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE), along with transitions such as glass transition (Tg). Available probes: Expansion, Macroexpansion, Penetration, Flexure, Dilatometer, Film/Fiber.

Delivers fast, efficient separations from samples as small as 175 µl up to 32.4mL at speeds up to 110,000 RPM. Rotors available: MLA-50, TLA-55, TLA-110.

A compact microprocessor controlled UV flood curing system.

Provide brilliant back illumination of transparent materials placed on filter area designed to illuminate and increase fluorescence.

Primarily used for desiccating, vacuum embedding, plating and electronic component processing.

Performs high-quality sectioning. Sectioning range: 1 to 40 mm.

Designed for gentle shaking or vigorous vortexing of samples in a wide variety of applications. Variable speed control from 300-3200 rpm.

This X-Ray Microscope (XRM) uses micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) hardware with specialized software to generate an image.  It uses X-rays to create cross sections of an object that can then be used to construct a 3D model of the object without causing damage.  This unit can scan a maximum size of 75 mm in diameter, up to 80 mm in length with a nominal resolution smaller than 0.45 µm.
Accessories:
Materials Testing Stage 44N (SKY-016811):  This stage applies controlled tension or compression symmetrically to both ends of an object.  It keeps the central part in a static position allowing tomographic scanning under the force.
Displacement sensor accuracy: ±0.01 mm
Load measurement accuracy:  ±1% of the full range
Maximum object diameter:  20 mm
Maximum travel:  11 mm
Maximum object height for compression:  24 mm
Maximum object length for tensile tests:  20 mm
Heating Stage (SKY-016941):  This stage allows for micro-CT scanning of samples under controlled object temperature above ambient.  The heating stage keeps an object at a temperature up to +85°C.  An internal microprocessor controls a solid-state cooling or heating system and measures the object temperature with <1°C accuracy.

Used to measure size (through dynamic light scattering) and zeta potential of nanoparticles in solution. Size range maximum: 0.3nm to 10µm. Size range for Zeta potential: 3.8nm to 100µm.