The major goal of the High-Throughput Technology Development Studio (TDS) is to provide expertise in assay development towards high-throughput applications and state-of-the-art technology for cell-based screening by automated microscopy.
Expertise:
Assay and technology development for high-content screening (lab automation, production of RNAi libraries, siRNA transfection, automated microscopy, live cell imaging, chemical screening, image analysis, data management)
Interests:
Application of automated image-based screening at subcellular resolution
Analysis of kinetic parameters of biological processes in medium-throughput mode with live cell automated microscopy
Identification of new gene functions and phenotypes after depletion or knock-down
Identification of new chemical or biological entities that induce equivalent phenotypes
Service:
Complete execution of high-throughput / high-content screening projects:
Assay transfer (adaptation of the bench experiment to a screenable assay)
Automation
Validation
Screening
Provision of individual processes performed by TDS-staff:
Transfection
Liquid handling for all sorts of applications (reformatting & replication of libraries, normalization of products to identical concentrations, cherry/hit picking, preparation of dilution series, etc.)
Measurements in homogeneous solution with plate readers
Measurements in cells or tissues with automated microscopes
Assay Development:
Assay design: full service cell-based high-content assay design and development using multi-parametric readout to tackle your specific biological questions
Assay optimization: cost effective process optimization for high-throughput screening, down-scaling, transfection optimization, work-flow optimization
Assay validation: validation of assays according to well-established standards
In collaboration with the Software Engineering Facility and the Image Processing Facility:
Image analysis: customized image analysis development using high-end image analysis software
Data management: data extraction and data analysis
Design, development and establishment of web databases
User Facility:
After an introduction and initial training, the TDS provides individuals with the opportunity to perform automated experiments or projects on their own with the instruments provided in the User Facility (Room 128A).
User Facility equipment:
Flexible liquid handling work station Biomek FXp (Beckman)
Multilable microtiter plate reader Genios Pro (TECAN)
Automated microscopy system ArrayScan VTI (Cellomics)
