The laboratory currently occupies approximately 3,000 sq. feet of space, which consists of 1,800 sq. feet of wet laboratory space with 10 fume hoods designated for organic synthesis There is also instrumentation for cellular imaging and screening (ca. 900 sq. feet), as well as a cell culture room (200 sq.feet).
Organic Synthesis
The laboratory is fully equipped with rotary evaporators, vacuum pumps, bulb-to-bulb distillation systems, analytical and top-loading balances, desiccator cabinets, refrigerators, ovens, purification and drying system for organic solvents. All fume hood cabinets are fully equipped with vacuum/inert gas lines and stir/hot plates. Equipment for compound purification and characterization includes a Varian GC CP-3800 with a 99-vial autosampler, and a Varian HPLC prostar capable of performing analytical, semipreparative and preparative separations.
Cellular and Molecular Screening
The laboratory is engaged in a variety of biological screening of natural product-based compounds and small-molecule libraries. The equipment for cell- and target-based screening includes the Perkin Elmer Victor 3 Fluorescence and Luminescence Reader, a Bio-Tek Powerwave XS UV/VIS reader, and a Perkin Elmer robotic liquid handler.
Cell Culture
This facility consists of a separate room for cell culture work, which contains appropriate instrumentation, cell banks and supplies for mammalian cell culture. The following equipment is located in the facility: biological safety cabinet, an incubator, a microscope, a cryofreezer, -80 °C freezer and a refrigerator.
Cellular Imaging
The laboratory is equipped with a new Leica DMI6000 microscope, which offers multiple capabilities for cellular imaging with full automation. The motorized focus and objective turret are completely controlled from the PC and include fine adjustments of the DIC prisms. Multiple excitations are used by this fluorescent microscope to simultaneously visualize multiple cell compartments or labeled proteins. In addition, we have acquired an Accuri C6 Cell Flow Cytometer which is equipped with a blue and red laser, two scatter detectors, and four fluorescence detectors with interference filters optimized for the detection of FITC, PE, PerCP-Cy5.5 and APC.