Core Facilities

Core Facilities
Phone: (212) 570-3034
Email: DRoss2@nybloodcenter.org

Science is a cooperative adventure that relies on experts who can produce compounds needed for research, create images of cells and their components, and make special biomolecules to supplement researchers' understanding of disease.

The Laboratories of Core Facilities develop the procedures and maintain complex machinery needed for much of the Institute's advanced research. Collaborating on the design and conduct of experiments, the laboratory staff gives researchers data, interpretation, purified compounds and other services. Through controls and self-testing, they produce findings that are accepted in peer-reviewed scientific publications and presentations. The laboratories' specialized and complex equipment is quite expensive, but since many researchers share their services, core facilities reduce costs and processing times.

Flow Cytometry is a technique for counting, examining and sorting cellular and subcellular particles in a stream of fluid.  Particles pass in single file through a laser beam generating scatter and fluorescent light signals.  Flow Cytometry allows fast and simultaneous multiparametric evaluation of the physical and/or chemical properties of cells and their quantitative analysis at the single cell or population level.  Flow cytometry is a critical technology in basic as well as biomedical research diagnostics.

The Flow Cytometry Laboratory (FCL) provides investigators with equipment and training for multiparameter acquisition and analysis of flow cytometric data and cell sorting (separation) from single cell suspension.

The Shared Instrumentation Laboratory (SIL) is the result of the merging of three laboratories: the Radiation Safety Laboratory, the Common Use Laboratory and the Glass Washing Facility.  Beyond providing radioisotope counters, detectors, dosimetry readings, real time PCR, several centrifuges, imaging instruments, and sterile glassware, the SIL also provides invaluable regulatory guidelines.  SIL is also responsible for regulatory compliance and compliance within the institution's established protocols ensuring a safe work environment and a violation free institute.

The Laboratory of Animal Research Services (LARS) is a fully accredited animal research facility that meets the standards of both independent standards organizations and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is responsible for the care and conscientious treatment of laboratory animals.

Electron Microscopy facility provides transmission electron microscopy services for investigators through: Conventional electron microscopy of cells and tissues to study the fine structure of different types of biological objects; Negative staining to study structure and interaction of particles and molecules in solutions and/or suspensions; Immunoelectron Microscopy (IEM) to visualize the localization of specific antigens in biological systems.

In addition, the Electron Microscopy facility handles full specimen preperation through fixation to embedding, thin and ultrathin sectioning and staining as well as a complete analysis of results, imaging, and consultation on planning and designing experiments.

The Electron Microscopy facility is equiped with a state-of-the-art Tecnai-12 Electron Microscope, and a new generation of Phillips TEM's which meets current-day standards. 

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) is a technique for obtaining high resolution optical images.  The key feature of confocal microscopy is its ability to produce in-focus images of thick specimens, a process known as a optical sectioning. Images are acquired point-by-point and reconstructed with a computer, allowing three-dimensional reconstructions of topologically-complex objects.  CLSM is widely-used in numerous biological science disciplines, from cell biology and genetics to microbiology and developmental biology.

The Confocal Microscopy Laboratory (CML) is equiped with Zeiss LSM 510 META (Axiovert 200M Inverted Microscope Stand) confocal laser scanning microsope.  The acquired optical sections can be volume reconstructed and visualized in real-time using Zeiss LSM software.  This inverted microscope is suitable for short-term imaging of live-cells and fixed samples