Shared Research Facilities and Equipment

The UNC Flow Cytometry Facility provides state-of-the-art flow cytometry and related services to the entire UNC-CH research community as well as to others in the Research Triangle Park area. A skilled staff provides cell sorting services, help with instrument setup, data analysis, and consultation for experiment design. Training is available to enable investigators and their staff to run the analytical cytometers themselves at reduced cost. A major part of our mission is to teach this technology to investigators, students, and staff. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about flow cytometry, if you want to know if you can use it in your research, how to design experiments, prepare samples, or how to analyze your data.

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 Hooker Imaging Core (HIC) is an open core providing standard and advanced light microscopy and image processing resources, including live cell/tissue, confocal and super resolution. Assistance is provided to enable users to acquire images from samples they have prepared. The HIC’s flagship confocal the Zeiss 880 has been upgraded with the Airyscan sensor to give users the extra resolution and sensitivity for those challenging samples. The HIC also has a newly installed upright Zeiss 800, to go along with a Fluoview 1000 and Zeiss 510 confocal. In addition to confocals the HIC has systems for long-term live cell imaging (VivaView), high content image screening (GE IN Cell Analyzer 2200) and wide field systems for color and fluorescence imaging. Training and other assistance will be provided by the core co-directors. The Faculty Advisor is Dr. Jim Bear.

The BRIC Small Animal Imaging facility provides imaging of small species, including mice, rats, etc., as well as in vitro specimens. On-site modalities include MRI, optical, CT, PET, SPECT and ultrasound. With expertise in study design, animal models, image acquisition and image analysis, the Small Animal Imaging facility helps investigators from grant application to publication. Services are available to investigators from all academic and industry labs.

This state-of-the-art laboratory is designed to perturb, measure, and analyze human movement, primarily gait. The centerpieces of the lab are a 3D motion capture system, and dual-belt instrumented treadmill.

The Duke Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility provides capabilities for mass spectrometry based proteomics and metabolomics for identification and quantitation, including biomarker discovery and biomarker verification experiments. The DPMSR is in a ~8,100 sq. ft. laboratory in the Chesterfield Building in Downtown Durham, one custom built for mass spectrometry based proteomics and metabolomics. For qualitative identifications and biomarker discovery experiments (‘omic-scale qualitative and quantitative analyses), the laboratory is equipped with eight high resolution accurate mass LC-MS/MS systems, each using a dedicated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography systems (Waters Acuity or nanoAcquity). Five of these systems are hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap tandem mass spectrometers – a Fusion Lumos Tribrid with ETD, a Fusion Lumos Tribrid with ETD and UVPD, a Q-Exactive Plus, a Q-Exactive-HF-X and a LTQ-Orbitrap (Thermo). The other three systems are hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometers (one Synapt G1, and two Synapt G2 High Definition Mass Spectrometers, Waters). For biomarker verification experiments metabolomic analyses and pharmacokinetic analyses, targeted mass spec quantitative experiments are performed on an Acquity or nanoAcquity UPLC system coupled to a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (one Waters Xevo TQ-XS and two Waters Xevo TQ-S). For these experiments, data acquisition is accomplished using LC-MS/MS with Multiple Reaction Monitoring. There are four Waters nanoAcquity LC systems, two multidimensional Waters nanoAcquity LC/LC systems, one Acquity-M Class LC/LC, and three Acquity LC systems. There is an I-Class Acquity coupled to a Waters’ Fraction Manager (two 96 well plates) for offline fractionation (high pH RP or SCX). Additionally, our lab is equipped with two microfluidic capilary electrophoresis 908 ZipChip systems for use with the Lumos and QE-HF-X. The laboratory also has the tools needed for enrichments (chemical and/or antibody-based) of sub-proteomes based on Post-Translational Modifications, including glycosylation, phosphorylation (pST, pY, pSTY global or kinase motif-specific enrichments), acetylation, ubiquitination, methylation, acylation, and S-nitrosylation, followed by characterization using UPLC-MS/MS or UPLC/UPLC-MS/MS. For metabolomic studies, the DPMSR has targeted assays for >750 metabolites, including amino acids, biogenic amines, lipids, bile acids, oxylipins, hydroxycholesterols, fatty acids (long chain and short chain), purines/pyrimidines, and energy cycle metabolites. Metabolomic analyses using the Biocrates platforms are available (Q500, p180, bile acids).

Our goal is to provide comprehensive and state of the art imaging for a wide-range of biological and other disciplines on and off the East Carolina University Campus for both research and teaching. Currently we can provide imaging in Conventional and Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy. We also have a range of basic bright-field, phase, differential interference contrast and fluorescence compound microscopes and basic stereo light microscopy.

The Genomics Core Facility provides DNA sequencing services for East Carolina University. The facility includes an Applied Biosystems 3130 Genetic Analyzer, Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer, thermal cyclers, and Nanodrop 2000.

We provide light microscopy, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and electron microscopy (TEM & SEM) equipment and technical support to ASU and western North Carolina. See policy at: http://www.casmifa.appstate.edu/Policies.html

We are a histology oriented core lab that has the ability to perform a range of histological services. Mallory Korman, HTL (ASCP) has recently joined the team as the supervisor and primary contact for scientific help. Prior to this position, Mallory had managed the Research Histology Core laboratory at Stony Brook Medical Center in New York for five years and had maintained excellent standards quality, effectiveness and efficiency. These standards are our top priority here at Carolinas HealthCare System and we will be more than happy to help you obtain your histological goals. We offer scientific help to help clients prepare for their study in order to yield the most optimal histological results. We work with a large range of species which also includes human sample studies. We feel it’s important to first help the client to understand the best possible ways to prepare their samples depending on what assays they would like to have completed. This helps to ensure that the obtained results are as optimal as possible.