The incubator can provide fully equipped shared wet lab space for early stage bioscience companies. The wet lab space is located in the Piedmont Triad Research Park. The facilities include chemistry and tissue hoods, gas, air, materials disposal, internet access, etc. A partial list of equipment in the lab can be found on the facilities page. In addition to the use of the wet lab, incubator clients can use break room facilities and schedule conference rooms as required.
In addition to the equipment available in the wet lab, the incubator has developed partnerships to expand the equipment and services available to incubator clients.
The following analytical equipment has been generously made available to clients on a case-by-case basis through the incubator's partnership with the Analytical Training Center (which is part of the NCCCS BioNetwork Pharmaceutical Center).
- LCMS, single quad / UPLC system with PDA detector, auto-sampler and column heater
- UPLC system with PDA detector, auto-sampler, column heater and peptide platform
- Alliance HPLC system with UV/Vis detector, degas system and column heater
- GC - 2010, auto injection system
- Nitrogen Generator – 30 L /min
- UPS system – 5.2 KV
- Empower software
- Classic LAC/E32 Server
- Oilless vacuum Pump
The incubator is also working with the Wake Forest University Health Sciences Office of Research to enable incubator clients to use facilities at the medical school on a fee basis. Some of the facilities are already enabled. Other facilities will be enabled as needed by the incubator and the Office of Research. A partial list of available resources is shown in the table below. In addition to the resources listed below, additional resources can often be made available depending on need.
| Resource | Capabilities | |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical Imaging Core Laboratory | A multi-purpose imaging facility for acquisition and analysis of images generated from 2-D radionuclide tracer samples (Phosphorimager), fluorescent tracer samples (Typhoon Imager) or images acquired by scanner or CCD video camera input (Alpha Innotech gel documentation station). | More Information |
| Analytical Ultracentrifugation Facility | To make accessible to appropriately trained investigators equipment for applying modern analytical ultracentrifugation technology to their individual research problems. Technical training is also available for interested users. Purpose of the Facility: The Optima XL-A Analytical Ultracentrifugation Facility was established in 1995 through funding by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and Wake Forest University to provide academic and industrial research scientists with access to modern analytical ultracentrifugation technology. | More Information |
| Animal Resources Program | The ARP provides for the procurement, husbandry, and health care of animals used in research and teaching. Scientific and technical support are also provided by the ARP for WFU programs using animals in teaching and research. Wake Forest University (WFU) is committed to providing a high-quality program of animal care and use in compliance with state and federal laws.The ARP operates in accordance with the standards and policies of the US Department of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). This program has been accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC), since 1966. | More Information |
| Animal Radiology Suite | The Animal Radiology Laboratory is equipped with an Innovet Select Veterinary Radiographic System (40-125 kVp, 1-300 mA), and an automatic film processor model AFP14XL. The room also has a built-in film cabinet and personal protective equipment. The equipment is utilized for both clinical/diagnostic and experimental procedures; annual activity averages approximately 100 procedures. | More Information |
| Bioanatomic (Human and Animal) Imaging Core | The core provides the following services: 1) clinical and experimental protocol review and protocol development for imaging questions, 2) quantitative image analysis, image archive and image database maintenance, and 3) provision of the infrastructure and support required to ensure successful utilization of the various imaging technologies. | More Information |
| Bio/Analytical NMR Laboratory (Instrument) | The NMR core provides access to the 600 MHz Bruker Avance NMR Spectrometer. The primary use of this core is for structure and dynamics analyses of biomacromolecules in the solution state on a collaborative basis. The spectrometer is also capable of limited solid-state data collection. The core is also available on a fee-for-service basis for simple data collection to assay protein folding and interactions and as either a collaborative or fee-for-service basis for metabolomics/small-molecule-metabolite studies of tissue extracts. The spectrometer is equipped with a triple 1H{13C/15N} resonance Cryoprobe, a direct detect 13C{1H} probe, an inverse broadband 1H{X} probe, and a 1H{13C} HR-MAS probe for solid or quasi-solid samples and can collect data over a temperature range of at least -20 to+50 C. | More Information |
| Biomolecular Computing and Graphics | Used together with X ray diffraction laboratory 16-node Linux cluster with 1 terabyte RAID 5 disk array and 18 gigabytes of RAM; 6 Linux workstations, each with dual AMD Athlon 2400+ processors, 1 gigabyte of RAM, 22-inch monitors, and stereo graphics; and Crystallographic software packages including HKL, CCP4, CNS, COOT and "O". | More Information |
| Biomolecular Research Facility | Consists of 5 laboratory units: Mass Spectrometry; Protein Analysis Core Laboratory, the DNA Synthesis Core Laboratory, the DNA Sequence Analysis Laboratory, and the BRF Computational Biology Resource. | More Information |
| Mass Spectrometer Facility | The goal of the Mass Spectrometer Facility is to assist investigators at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the characterization of lipids, proteins, and other products from biological sources. The facility provides access to technical proficiency and instrumentation for moderate fee-for-service costs. New protocols and instrumental methods are developed or implemented for use by scientists and students. | More Information |
| Protein Analysis Core Laboratory (PACL) | The Protein Analysis Core Lab (PACL) at Wake Forest University provides a variety of services for scientists to analyze their protein of interest. The facility also synthesizes and purifies custom peptides.The lab can provide technical expertise and advice for preparing your protein samples for analysis. Most procedures can be done with very small amounts of protein (less than 1 micromole) and turnaround time is only a few days. | More Information |
| DNA Sequencing and Synthesis Facilities | The DNA synthesis core lab provides custom-made quality oligonucleotides to assist research. DNA sequencing is performed on the Applied Biosystems Model 3100 Genetic Analyzer and is offered on a fee-for-service basis. Samples submitted for sequencing and automated analysis undergo a cycle sequencing reaction that uses ABI Big DyeTM Terminator Chemistry. The fluorescently labeled products are separated from reaction reagents and analyzed by capillary electrophoresis. The DNA sequence is automatically analyzed by the 3100 analysis software. Typical read lengths are 600 - 650 bases for high quality DNA templates and primers. | More Information |
| Computational Resource Facility | This facility provides Wake Forest scientists with access to a wide variety of bioinformatics and computational biology tools, programs and analysis services. The facility provides a suite of scientific computing resources including databases, programs, and a website to meet the needs of investigators. The website (helix.wfubmc.edu) serves as the primary portal to specialized computational resources provided by the facility. Researchers may also obtain individual accounts on facility servers to gain access to non-web based scientific software which is primarily used for molecular modeling, CPU-intensive and/or large-scale batch processing. | More Information |
| Cell and Virus Vector Core Laboratory | The Cell and Virus Vector Core Laboratory provides a variety of sterile cell culture media, sera and growth supplements, antibiotics, buffer solutions, animal and human cell lines, virus vectors and stocks. It is available to all members of the Cancer Center. Other investigators of Wake Forest are welcome to use the core, but at different rates. | More Information |
| Cellular Imaging Core | The Cellular Imaging Core (formerly known as MICROMED) is a full service microscopy laboratory supplying equipment and technical support for both electron and confocal microscopy; it comprises a shared resource available throughout the institution for both clinical and research purposes. The core also has available brightfield and fluorescence microscopy systems for time-lapse video microscopy in environmental chambers, upright and inverted digital fluorescence microscopy, single cell microinjection, laser-capture microdissection, and small animal imaging technologies that utilize light, such as green fluorescent protein and luciferase imaging in living mice. | More Information |
| Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy | To provide a core center for circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and neighboring institutions. Capabilities include 1) CD spectroscopy and data analysis of proteins and chemical compounds; 2) Secondary structure analysis of proteins in solution; 3)Temperature-controlled kinetic studies; and 4)Thermal denaturation profiles of aqueous proteins | More Information |
| Comparative Medicine Clinical Chemistry and Endocrinology Assay Services Laboratory | To provide clinical chemical, endocrinologic, and specialty biomarker analyses for Departmental and Primate Center researchers and their collaborators. | More Information |
| Comparative Pathology Laboratory | To provide histological, immunohistochemical, and histomorphometric support for research or diagnostic purposes. | More Information |
| Diagnostic and Experimental Necropsy Laboratory | This laboratory is supervised by Dr. Cline in support of clinical medicine and all researchers at the WFUPC. The necropsy suite has two necropsy rooms (200 sq. ft. each) equipped with stainless steel, down-draft necropsy tables, balances, a large walk-in refrigeration unit, a tissue trimming area (240 sq. ft.) equipped with two trimming tables with exhaust hoods and photographic equipment, cryopreservation equipment, and a storage room (80 sq. ft.) for necropsy supplies. Digital photomicroscopy is used for documentation of lesions, with images stored on the WFUPC server. An additional necropsy laboratory (360 sq. ft.) has a desk and bench space, equipment for tissue processing, two networked IBM computers, photographic archives, and a two-headed Nikon teaching microscope. | More Information |
| Diet Preparation Laboratory (nonhuman primates) | This 352 square-foot laboratory kitchen is responsible for the preparation of all experimental diets for nonhuman primates. There is an adjacent temperature-controlled storeroom for diet ingredients (660 sq. ft.) and a large room (1,188 sq. ft.) with about 25 freezers for storage of prepared diets. This laboratory has been providing specialized diets for our animal studies for over 40 years and currently prepares approximately 46 different diets for ongoing investigations. Diets are prepared based on very specific formulations, color coded, and stored in study-specific freezers. Furthermore, samples for chemical analysis are taken from every diet lot. | More Information |
| Hypertension Core Laboratory | The Hypertension Core Laboratory performs radioimmunoassays (RIAs), enzymatic immunoassays (EIAs) and enzymatic assays for clinical and research purposes. The laboratory uses the new technology of multiplexing ELISAs (SearchLight) for panels of disease specfic markers. The laboratory participates in NIH-funded, FDA-approved testing, and pharmaceutical company-sponsored projects. The Laboratory conducts a number of assays for the GCRC. The laboratory is CLIA-certified. | More Information |
| Lipoprotein Analytic Laboratory | To provide qualitative and quantitative measurements of lipid and lipoprotein endpoints for non-diagnostic investigational purposes. Capabilities:
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More Information |
| Macromolecular Interactions Core Laboratory | This multidisciplinary facility has a proven track record of promoting and supporting research in proteomics, lipidomics, metabolic diseases, cancer, and molecular medicine. We welcome investigators who want to pursue research projects that will benefit from the use of SPR technology to address problems in molecular recognition. However, it is important to emphasize that this is not a turn-key operation; most projects will require a long-term commitment from each investigator to obtain valid kinetic and thermodynamic data. We have expanded the capabilities of the Macromolecular Interactions Core Laboratory (MICL) by adding new instrumentation for identifying, characterizing, and measuring the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters that govern interactions between biological macromolecules using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology. | |
| Microarray Core Facility | The Microarray Core offers two services: Bioanalysis and Expression Profiles.For Bioanalysis services, the Core will test the quality and quantity of RNA samples using the Agilent Technology system. The researcher will then receive a data file containing a simulated gel, an electropherogram, and the RNA integrity number (RIN) for each sample.For Expression Profiles, the Core will use the Affymetrix GeneChip® oligonucleotide array system to provide expression profiling on Human, Rat, and Mouse RNA samples. The Core provides a full service that includes an RNA Quality check, Double Stranded cDNA synthesis, cRNA Biotin labeling, fragmentation, hybridization, Washing/Staining (using the GeneChip Fluidics station 450), and scanning (using the 7G Plus Affymetrix GeneChip Scanner). | More Information |
| Mobile Imaging Platform (non human primates) | A mobile imaging platform is now available for investigators at WFUPC for noninvasive measurement of physiological systems. MRI (GE Signa 1.5T Horizon), CT (Siemens Emotion 6 CT101) and PRT (CPS LSO PET/CT Hi-Rez-6) scanning technologies are all available from a common footprint. | More Information |
| Rapid Reaction Kinetics and Spectroscopy Laboratory (Instrument) | The facility includes an Applied Photophysics DX.17 MV stopped-flow spectrophotometer (UV/vis/fluorescence) with photodiode array accessory and Acorn 32-bit RISC-processor workstation. An SGI 320 Windows 2000 workstation is used with APL's PC Pro-K software for stopped-flow data analysis. Other instrumentation includes a KinTek Instruments rapid-quench flow, Agilent 8453 and Beckman DU7500 diode-array spectrophotometers, and an SLM AB2 spectrofluorimeter. | |
| Surgery Facilities (Animal) | The surgical suite on the Friedberg Campus consists of rooms for surgeons and instrument preparation, animal preparation and recovery, and two operating rooms. Trained and experienced animal health technicians are available to assist veterinarians and research investigators with surgical procedures; our senior technician is a trained EMT and has worked as a veterinary technician for over 18 years. | More Information |
| Synthetic Chemistry Shared Resource Core | The primary goal of the Core facility is to generate new molecular structures for the treatment of cancer. In addition, the facility hopes to stimulate collaboration and understanding between synthetic scientists and biological researchers. Finally, the Core hopes to provide a focus point for interdisciplinary education on both the Reynolda and Medical School campuses for undergraduate and graduate students as well as post-doctoral researchers and faculty. | More Information |
| Transgenic Mouse Core Facility | The Transgenic Mouse Core Facility provides investigators at Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS) access to state-of-the-art technologies for the generation of genetically-engineered mouse lines. | More Information |
| Tumor Tissue Core | The Tumor Bank stores fresh tissue excised in the course of standard operations to remove tumors. Samples are derived from remnant tissues not necessary for diagnostic or treatment related purposes. In addition, leukemia and bone marrow samples are also collected.This core also offers the "Advanced" Tumor Bank. The participants in this bank have consented to the donation of tissue, blood and/or body fluids as well as the release of demographic information, providing researchers the ability to access medical histories associated with the samples (all PHI is removed). | More Information |
| X-ray Diffraction and Crystallization Laboratories | The X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory is currently the most advanced in-house academic facility of its kind in North Carolina and includes 2 complete X-ray generator-and-detector systems with associated low-temperature devices (Oxford CryoJet). The newest (July, 2003) system consists of a Rigaku/MSC MicroMax-007 Microfocus rotating anode generator, Saturn-92 Digital CCD Camera system, and Confocal Blue Max-Flux optical system. The original (November, 2001) system consists of an RU-H3R generator with Osmic Confocal Blue optics and an R-AXIS IV imaging plate system, which was upgraded in July, 2003, with an inverse phi axis and color video system. The protein crystallization facilities are conveniently located adjacent to the X-ray Diffraction Laboratory; these include a new (2003) 100 ft2 cold room dedicated to crystallization, a Belle Technology Clear View Glove Box for preparing and cryo-cooling crystals in the absence of oxygen, and a Dynamic Light Scattering instrument (Malvern Instruments ZEN1600) for characterization of proteins in solution. A 2004 grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center funded the purchase of a Tecan Freedom Evo 200 robotics workstation for Protein Crystallization and Proteomics applications, in addition to a 4DX Systems AB single-crystal microspectrophotometer and a Tecan Safire2 monochromator-based microplate reader. | More Information |