Sample homogenization

Fast and efficient homogenization of various sample types using ceramic, steel, or glass beads prefilled in 2 ml screw-cap tubes can be performed on the MagNA Lyser (Roche) or the BeadBlaster 24R Refrigerated Microtube Homogenizer (Benchmark).

RNA / DNA QC

The 4200 TapeStation (Agilent) is an automated electrophoresis system for determining the size and quantity of nucleic acids. Applications include measurement of RNA integrity (RIN), genomic DNA integrity (DIN), quality control of NGS libraries, and sizing and quantification of PCR products.

Pipetting robot

The epMotion 5075 (Eppendorf) is a flexible robotic platform for automated liquid handling. Applications include the preparation of qPCR reactions in 384-well microtiter plates for cost-efficient nucleic acid profiling.

Quantitative real-time PCR 

Real-time PCR cyclers are available in 96-well (Analytik Jena, Agilent AriaMx) or 384-well format (Analytik Jena, ABI QuantStudio 5). The Rotor-Gene Q (Qiagen) is particularly suitable for high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis.

Digital PCR

The Naica dPCR system performs absolute quantification of nucleic acid sequences by partitioning a sample into thousands of individual PCR reactions. After amplification, positive and negative partitions are counted, and the number of positive reactions is used to determine the initial target concentration without the need for reference standards.

Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM)

Tissues are complex structures composed of heterogeneous mixtures of morphologically and functionally distinct cell types. By enabling the dissection of specific cell populations within a tumor or tissue sample, the Zeiss PALM Microbeam Laser Microdissection system facilitates the retrieval of material for RNA, DNA, and protein analysis. Frozen or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are sectioned and discrete structures within the tissue are identified by a quick staining step and light microscopy. Dissected cells are captured on a sterile plastic surface, which is then transferred to a sample collection tube containing the appropriate cell-lysis buffer.

Bulk mRNA-seq library prep

Preparation of sequencing-ready mRNA libraries (Lexogen CORALL) from total RNA samples. Sequencing can be provided in cooperation with an external NGS facility (VBCF).

Single-cell RNA-seq

The 10x Genomics Chromium system is a microfluidics-based platform that partitions thousands of individual cells and prepares barcoded sequencing libraries to analyze gene expression, cell-surface proteins, and other molecular information at single-cell resolution.

Assay design

Assays for PCR-based (qPCR, dPCR) detection of DNA, mRNA, or small RNAs can be designed and established. Both probe-based formats and DNA-binding dye-based formats can be offered.