The University of Toledo

Core Laboratory Facilities

Core Laboratories provide advanced instrumentation and expertise to facilitate basic science biomedical research at the University of Toledo and other institutions in our region.

The University of Toledo Advanced Microscopy & Imaging Center (UT AMIC), a Core Laboratory on the Health Science Campus, is a 3,000 square foot facility designed to bring together advanced light and Electron microscopy systems and “state of the art” image analysis software to perform biomedical research.  The Center consists of a 1,000 sq. ft. General Microscopy Laboratory with 12 separate “work stations” housing individual, computer-based microscopy systems.  The center also includes an 800 square foot, Tissue-culture Microscopy Laboratory with 6 separate “work stations” for microscopy systems dedicated to the study of living cells.  Current systems running in the facility include:   Confocal Microscopy with 3-D Construction, Fluorescence Microscopy, Time Lapse Imaging with Fluorescence, Multi-photon Microscopy in Real-Time, TIRF Microscopy, Laser Capture Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Basic Light Microscopy, Absorption Cytometric Measurement of DNA Content and Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH).  The UT AMIC also offers basic histology services including: tissue processing, embedding, paraffin sections, cryosectioning and staining. 

The Flow Cytometry Core provides services, instruments, and training in the field of fluorescence-based cytometric analysis and cell sorting.  The Core Facility is equipped with BD Biosciences FACS Aria, which enables high-speed sorting of multiple populations based on a 12 channel-detector system, and BD Biosciences FACS Calibur, which allows conventional and high-throughput analyses of cell surface phenotypes.    

The Proteomics Core provides services, instruments, and training in the field of global protein analysis.  The Core Facility is currently equipped with basic instruments for differential protein expression analysis by 2D-PAGE and for protein identification by MALDI-ToF peptide mapping and by LC-tandem MS peptide sequencing.  Major instrumentation update is underway, pending upon extramural grant funding.   

The Genomics Core provides services, instruments, and training in the field of microarray analysis.  The Core Facility is equipped with Affimetrics GeneChip analysis system, PerkinElmer SpotArray microarray spotting system, and PerkinElmer Scan Array Express microarray analysis system.    

Not only do the above Core Facilities in the UT College of Medicine & Life Sciences enable the faculty and their trainees to incorporate cutting-edge technologies in biomedical research, they also serve as focal discussion points for university-wide interdisciplinary and translational research initiatives.