The RIC core will be housed in five laboratory spaces, in the TSU Gray Hall Building. These laboratories are certified for BSL2 biosafety work and follow institutional requirements for biohazard disposal. The existing facility is already well equipped to support all the capabilities . We currently have an animal care facility to conduct studies using rat and mouse models at Gray Hall, which was renovated in Fall 2020. This state-of-the-art new facility will greatly improve and expand our current vertebrate animal facility. The Office of Research at TSU will designate at least four operation and experimental rooms to RIC core uses

Major Instruments

Bio-analysis

Waters HPLC and UPLC systems

Key Features

Three different Waters models coupled with a broad range of detectors – PDA, dual λ absorbance, UV/VIS, and fluorescence
Enhanced separation resolution
Increased sample through-put

Application

Drug discovery
Analyze drugs/metabolites in biological samples.
In-vitro diagnostic test to analyze compounds (diagnostic indicators/ therapeutically monitored compounds)

SCIEX X500B QTOF System

Key Features

Robust, high-performance high-resolution MS/MS system
High mass resolution (>30,000 resolution)
High mass accuracy (<1ppm accuracy for m/z>50amu)
Removal of interference from complex sample matrices
Quantify linearly up to 4 orders of magnitude
Identify analytes based on MS/MS (IDA and SWATH™ MS/MSALL, ion ratios and MS/MS spectra)

Application

Identify metabolites
Analyze larger molecule

AB SCIEX QTrap 4000, 6500, and 7500 UPLC-MS/MS coupled with Shimadzu Nexera X2 UHPLC System

Key Features

Scan rates of up to 20,000 Da/sec
20ms polarity switch
Quantitative MRM³workflows
Linear ion trap capabilities
Detection of analytes with rapid Data Dependent Acquisition (DDA)
Data Independent Acquisition (DIA) strategy, SWATH technology

Application

Include all capabilities of AB SCIEX qtrap UPLC/MS/MS system
Achieve lowest limits of quantitation in complex matrices
Obtain comprehensive peptide sequence confirmation and simplify MRM assay development of peptide quantification
Simultaneously quantitate mrms and perform full library scans to search for contaminants

Formulation

Darwin PH09 stability Chamber

Key Features

Performance specifications exceeding FDA and ICH requirements
Excellent humidity control and avoids hot spots during mapping

Application

Stability studies of compound/formulation in development
Standardize ph/stability/solubility profiles of active pharmaceutical ingredients (api)
Compatibility studies to identify the best ingredients to enhance api performance across dosage forms

LV1 Low Volume Microfluidizer Homogenizer

Key Features

Small sample size requirements (1-6 ml)
Produces tunable nanoscale vesicles with narrowest particle size distribution for high-throughput drug screening and drug delivery

Application

Nanoencapsulation
Nanoemulsions
Nanosuspensions
Deagglomeration
Liposomes
Cell disruption (yeasts and plant cells)

Zetasizer Nano ZS

Application
Measurements of:

Size/electrophoretic mobility of proteins
Zeta potential of colloids/nanoparticles
Protein mobility
Microrheology of protein/polymer solutions
Molecular weight and second virial coefficient, a2, of macromolecules kd
Dls interaction parameter
Size detector for sec or fff

SOTAX CE 7smart USP Apparatus 4 – Flow Through Cell Dissolution

Application

Flexibility and ability to characterize the release properties of a wide variety of formulations for in-vitro drug release testing

LAMBDA 465 UV/Vis Spectrophotometer

Application:

determination of drug content to support formulation screening and quality control
PK studies
Determination of pKa and LogD

CytoViva Enhanced Darkfield Hyperspectral Microscope Imaging System

Application

Analytical confirmation of nano-scale materials and their interactions in solution, live cells, tissue, and materials based matrices
Provides spectral analysis of materials and biologicals imaged
Supports research in nano-drug delivery and nano-toxicology. Detects non-fluorescent and fluorescently labeled components in live cells and nano-materials

PK-PD

Leica CM1950 Clinical Cryostat, Combining CM1950 with Cytoviva-enhanced dark-field illumination system

Key Features

Optimized cooling system
Rapid specimen freezing
Smooth specimen orientation for high-quality sectioning

Application

Preparation of tissue section samples
In vivo studies of drug efficacy and toxicology for drug development, pk/pd, target engagement, and toxicology studies
Combined with cytoviva-enhanced dark-field illumination system

Beckman Coulter DTX 880 Multimode Detector

Application:

Fluorescence detection, time-resolved fluorescence, and fluorescence polarization
Luminescence detection (glow luminescence)
Absorbance detection in the visible range (340 nm to 650 nm, DTX 800) or UV and visible range (230 nm to 750 nm, DTX 880)
Scan measurement types: endpoint, kinetic, multiple wavelength, linear scan and area scan

Software:
WinNonLin / Phoenix from Certara
Phoenix NLME from Certara
GastroPlus from Simulation Plus
SigmaPlot
Graphpad Prism
SAS

Application:
Consultation on Experimental Design for PK/PD Correlation and Modeling Analyses

PK Modeling Development and Simulation

Individual PK Modeling
Pop PK Modeling
Advanced Modelings
Parent/metabolite Co-modeling
Enterohepatic cycling modeling
PBPK modeling (with Biodistribution profiles)

PD Modeling and Determination of Parameters (Emax and EC50)

Emax model
Sigmoidal Emax model

PK/PD Modeling

Direct effect model
Indirect effect model
Define predictive pk parameter(s) for pd outcomes
Define exposure/efficacy and exposure/toxicity levels
Guide dosing strategy by recommending rational dose and dose regimen for further efficacy studies
Interspecies allometric scaling to project pk parameters in humans, and recommend first in human (fih) dose for ind application

Molecular and Cellular Biology

Biorad T100 thermal cycler

Key Features:

Intuitive touch screen: easy programming using a large color touch screen and intuitive interface
Consistent results: robust design ensures effective and consistent performance run to run
Easy optimization: this gradient thermal cycler allows fast PCR optimization using a unique thermal gradient.
Easy protocol management: protocols can be organized using personalized folders or a USB flash drive

Application:

Nucleic acid amplification (PCR)
Gene cloning and analysis
Gene expression analysis
Mutational analysis
Cycle sequencing

Biorad ChemiDoc Touch Imaging System

Key Features:

All-in-one flexible imaging: get precise, reproducible chemiluminescence and colorimetric blot detection, analysis, and gel documentation in a single system
Sample trays and Smart Tray Technology: different sample trays available to cover diverse imaging applications. Smart Tray Technology automatically recognizes the application-specific trays and adjusts imaging parameters and software options according
Stain-free protein normalization: stain-free imaging permits the normalization of bands to total protein in both in gels and blots; eliminate the need for housekeeping proteins

Applications:

Protein, including stain-free, and nucleic acid gel imaging and documentation
Identify and quantify proteins, nucleic acids, protein-ligand interactions etc., with chemiluminescence, or colorimetric detection.

Tissue Culture System

Key Features:

Tissue culture hood
CO2 incubator
Brightfield/fluorescence microscope

Application

Tissue culture
Sterilized environment for performing cellular assays
Visualize cells under bright field or florescence.

Rotary Cell culture system

3D cell culture
Sterilized environment for performing cellular assays
Simulate the microgravity conditions for cell growth

Nikon ECLIPSE TS100

Phase contrast and NAMC observations
flat, sharp and clear images

DeNovix DS -11 Spectrophotometer

quantify nucleic acids and protein
Small sample volume (0.5-1.0 uL)
No dilutions necessary
Nucleic Acid Quantification: dsDNA, RNA, ssDNA
Protein and Peptide Quantification: BSA, IgG, custom proteins
Colorimetric Assays: Bradford, BCA, Lowry, Pierce 660
Kinetic Assays: Fully customizable, 37-45°C
OD600 Microbial Cell Cultures: Optical density and cell/mL calculations
Fluorescence Nucleic Acid Quantification: DeNovix dsDNA, DeNovix RNA, Qubit®, custom assays
Fluorescence Protein Quantification: Commonly used kits and custom assays
Basic Fluorometer: Pre-configured and user-defined fluorophores

Tecan Infinite 200 PRO

Absorbance
Absorbance spectra
Fluorescence (top and bottom), Fluorescence spectra (top and bottom)
Time-resolved fluorescence (TRF)
ELISA
DNA/RNA quantification
Nucleic acid labeling efficiency
Protein quantification
ATP quantification
Ca2+ detection

PCR (Eppendorf Mastercycler personal)

Up to 100 programs
Compact thermalcyclers with Peltier heating and cooling

Biorad Western blot Analysis System

Absorbance
Absorbance spectra
Fluorescence (top and bottom), Fluorescence spectra (top and bottom)
Time-resolved fluorescence (TRF)

High Performance Computing Laboratory

A Linux cluster
A 62 compute nodes with dual quad-core and 12-way cores Intel Xeon hyper-threaded processors
A total storage capacity is 30 TB
A 1Gb management network
A high- speed, low-latency cupper 10 Gb production network

Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory