The Cell Culture Facility comprises two dedicated laboratories that provide access to the equipment essential for the preparation and maintenance of mammalian cell lines and primary cells.
One of the laboratories is Biosafety Level -2 (BSL-2), where it is possible to work with viral vectors and cells transfected with them. The facility currently houses all the necessary items to support cell culture, including three laminar flow hoods equipped with vacuum pumps, two controlled environment carbon dioxide incubators, two water baths, two centrifuges, an automated cell counter with computer, two vortex shakers, two refrigerators/freezers and two inverted microscopes (one with a digital camera).
The facility is utilized by multiple groups, who maintain and employ numerous mammalian cell lines and primary cells for research purposes. Moreover, the specialized technical staff is available to train and help inexperienced users.
LOCATION
Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DSF) – Building C
BSL-2 lab Geotec 00200 00 040
BSL-1 lab Geotec 00200 -1 036
STAFF AND CONTACT
Scientific supervisor
Prof. Sara De Martin
Facility manager
Dr. Erica Gentilin 📞 049 8275082 ✉ erica.gentilin@unipd.it
Staff
Dr. Carla Argentini 📞 049 8275363 ✉ carla.argentini@unipd.it
Dr. Alessia Forgiarini 📞 049 8275082 ✉ alessia.forgiarini@unipd.it
Dr. Erica Gentilin 📞 049 8275082 ✉ erica.gentilin@unipd.it
Technical gas reference
Dr. Federico Cusinato 📞 049 8275099 ✉ federico.cusinato@unipd.it
HOW TO BOOK
All the researchers can book the laminar flow hoods using the online system and log in with accredited credentials (http://147.162.61.199/strumenti2 Cell Culture Facility). All the other instruments of the Facility can be used without booking.
Time of slot 15 min. Instructions and a specific and adequate training for the correct and safe use of the Cell Culture Facility equipment are provided to users. The staff members will release a certificate of attendance that allows users to use the equipment and will enable their badges to open the respective doors.
Users have to follow Cell Culture Facility rules.
EQUIPMENT
BSL-1 LAB
Faster CytoFAST Top – A laminar flow biohazard hood (CYTOSAFE), that permits to work with cell cultures in aseptic conditions and to manipulate cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs. Equipped with a vacuum pump.
Faster BH-EN 2004 – A laminar flow biohazard hood, that permits to work with cell cultures in aseptic conditions, equipped with vacuum pump.
CytoSMART Corning – Cell counter that generates images that are automatically analyzed and can be used to count mammalian cells and organoids. Useful to measure the cell concentration, size and viability. All data is collected in on-line reports stored in the CytoSMART Cloud.
Optika IM-3 – Inverted trinocular microscope equipped for bright field, phase contrast. Objectives: 4x, 10x, 20x and 40x, bright field and phase contrast. Light source: white LED. Detector: 3Mpx color RGB camera.
Binder Incubator – CO2 incubator with a controlled environment (37° C and 5% CO2) for cell cultures.
Thermo IEC CL10 – Benchtop centrifuge equipped with a swing-out rotor with 15 ml or 50 ml tube adapters. Spin up to 4000 rpm. Variable acceleration and deceleration rate.
BSL-2 LAB
Faster BH-EN 2004 – A laminar flow biohazard hood, that permits to work with cell cultures in aseptic conditions, equipped with vacuum pump.Â
Heraeus HERA cell – CO2 incubator with a controlled environment (37° C and 5% CO2) for cell cultures.
Nikon TMS – Inverted microscope equipped for bright field and phase contrast. Objectives: 4x PhL; 10x Ph1, 20x Ph2 and 40x Ph3. Light source: Halogen lamp.
Ohraus Frontier 5706 – Benchtop centrifuge equipped with fixed-angle rotors for 15 ml or 50 ml tubes. Spin up to 6000 rpm. Variable acceleration and deceleration rate.
