Shared Research Facilities and Equipment

The Light Microscopy Core Facility (LMCF) offers a wide range of confocal and fluorescence microscopes and image analysis resources. We aim to offer affordable and efficient access to standard and advanced imaging instrumentation.

The Macromolecular Crystallography (MX) core, part of the UNC Center for Structural Biology, offers services in growing diffraction-quality protein crystals, including screening of crystal-producing experimental conditions and scaling up those conditions; as well as screening crystals for diffraction quality then collecting full datasets of diffraction images. We can also help determine your crystal structures, analyze them, and help you publish.

The Macromolecular Interaction Facility (part of the UNC Center for Structural Biology) is a core facility that provides access to state-of-the-art instrumentation for macromolecular characterization and their interactions with cognate ligands. The equipment include:
Two fully-automated isothermal titration calorimeters (Malvern PEAQ ITC-automated and Auto-ITC200)
A surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor (Biacore 8K)
A Bio-layer Interferometry (BLI)-based biosensor (ForteBio Octet Red384)
A MicroScale Thermophoresis (MST) instrument (Nanotemper Monolith NT.115)
A manual MicroCal VP-ITC isothermal titration calorimeter
A circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer (Applied Photophysics Chirascan V100
A nanoDSF (Nanotemper Prometheus NT.48)
A dynamic light scattering (DLS) plate reader (Wyatt DynaPro)
A Wyatt static light scattering system (DAWN) with size exclusion column (SEC-MALS)
An FS Microplate Reader (Pherastar)
A SPEX Fluorolog-3: research T-format spectrofluorometer.

The Marine Magnetic Resonance Facility houses a 600 mhz vertical magnet. The flexibility of the instrument allows scientists to study questions ranging from how sea food spoils, to how toxins, drugs or environmental stressors affect the physiology and biochemistry of marine animals.

The North Carolina State University Mass Spectrometry Facility (NCSU MSF) offers a variety of mass spectrometers providing analysis through an array of methods for sample introduction, ionization and mass measurement. Our mass spectrometers include the following: Thermo Fisher Scientific LTQ Orbitrap XL, Agilent Technologies 6210 LC-TOF, Agilent Technologies 5975 GC/MS, Thermo Fisher Scientific TSQ Quantum Discovery MAX Triple Quadrupole MS, Agilent Technologies GCD and AB Sciex 5800 MALDI-TOF/TOF MS.

The overall goal of the Choline & Metabolites Lab Facility is to provide cutting edge nutritional biochemical analysis of choline and metabolites in human, plant and mouse populations. To request choline & metabolites services, please complete our online service request form. [http://norc.sph.unc.edu/core_c/request_form.php]

METRIC is focused on advanced molecular characterization and is one of five NC State Shared Core Research Facilities administered by the Office of Research and Innovation. We offer technical expertise and state-of-the-art instrumentation encompassing magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography.

Our mission is to provide surgical, imaging, and functional assessment services with a focus on the cardiovascular system in rodents. The core facilitates the assessment of cardiovascular function in rodents and works with all interested investigators to develop new models of cardiovascular disease or modify existing protocols. Our services include animal model microsurgeries (e.g., myocardial infarctions, ischemia reperfusions, pressure overload, implantation and cannulation, artery ligation, and models of thrombosis, stroke, and cardiac arrest). We also can perform electrocardiography, pressure-volume loops, cardiomyocyte isolation, and Lagendorff and working heart perfusions. There are also self-service equipment offerings, which include ultrasound, microsurgical work station rental, non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, and intravital confocal microscopy. Our director will meet with interested parties to collaborate on study design model selection, and data acquisition.

Our mission is to help YOU with YOUR research.
We provide training, assistance and services in light microscopy, electron microscopy and image analysis.
Electron microscopy services include project consultation, sample preparation, imaging and training on transmission and scanning electron microscopes. Light microscopy services include project consultation and training on image acquisition. Laser scanning confocal, spinning disk confocal, light-sheet, widefield fluorescence, darkfield, and polarization microscopy available. Image analysis services including training on image analysis (3D and 2D analysis using Imaris and FIJI, colocalization, macros, etc.)

Molecular genetics analysis including genotyping of populations for molecular markers analysis, QTL analysis and marker-assisted selection. The real-time PCR can be used for gene expression analysis. All investigators working at Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center (MHCREC) will have free access to use any of these equipment for their research. However, they will have to schedule their time in coordination with the technician from the tomato breeding program. Investigators from outside the MHCREC are also encouraged to use the research facility whenever necessary. All users are expected to contribute supplies, particularly QIAxcel cartridge, micro plates, grinding beads, and tubes.