Equipment / Instrumentation
Our laboratory is equipped for cell culture and molecular biology. We are not going to list every simple centrifuge here. The reason for this table is to list instruments that are not available in every laboratory and that might be interesting for scientist looking for specific support.
Plasma device
The PlasmaFlecto 30 allows fully automated and manual processes of plasma treatment. With a chamber size it is suitable even for bulky loads.
The system is equipped with Argon 4.8 and oxygen supply.
For basic research we are using the machine to sterilize sensitive materials by hydrogen peroxide vapor and oxygen plasma.
Applikon - Biotechnology: Bioreactor Systems
The Mini BioBundle System allows process development in scalable suspension culture starting with a process volume as low as 50 mL per vessel.
Optics11 Piuma Nanoindenter
The nanoindenter from Optics11 allows probing of hydrogel matrices as well as tissues with cantilevers of varying stiffness to determine the elastic modulus of the specimens.
Dipping fluorescence microscope
Most cell culture laboratories operate inverted microscopes. To image cells on hydrogel substrates these microscopes are not very useful especially when the substrate is thick. For imaging of hydrogel substrates we are using an upright miscroscope with water dipping objectives. The device is equipped with a HBO100 mercury light source and an Orca Flash 4.0 V2 CMOS camera reaching >80% quantum efficiency.
(For confocal imaging solutions with upright and inverted systems, STED and multiphoton imaging systems contact the imaging facility a CECAD)
Glove Box (Isolator)
Polymerization of hydrogels from acrylamide/bis-acrylamide is impaired by oxygen. To overcome this problem individual samples are produced in closed Teflon molds produced by the Team of H. Metzner (work shop) in house. For larger approaches an isolator is available that is supplied with nitrogen from a PeakScientific nitrogen generator.