A state-of-the-art, multi-pod facility for studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, influenza virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
The RI-MUHC has a multi-pod Containment Level 3 (CL3) Platform for research on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, influenza virus and HIV (CL2+). The three independent pods meet the highest safety standards the Canadian Biosafety Standards and Guidelines (PHAC and CFIA) have defined. The facility is available to RI-MUHC researchers, affiliated collaborators and external researchers whose work requires a facility where properly trained users can manipulate various pathogenic organisms. Users of the CL3 Platform must follow the established Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), as defined in the Platform's SOP manual.
Consultation and training, including safe handling and management of tuberculosis samples, use and access to CL3 TB facility, design of microbiology, immunology, cell culture and small animal experiments, and live cell sorting, inhalation exposure studies
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
| Equipment | Function |
|---|---|
| Type II A2 safety cabinets (2) | Safe handling of pathogens |
| Type II B2 biological safety cabinets (6) | Safe handling of pathogens |
| Centrifuges | |
| Incubators | Stationary, shaking and rolling |
| Freezers and refrigerators | -20, -80°, 4° |
| CH Technologies Inhalation Exposure System |
Acute, sub-chronic and chronic inhalation studies
|
| Plas Labs anaerobic glove box | Hypoxia chamber provides controlled temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide while maintaining a slight negative pressure |
| BTX™ electroporator | Transfection of living tissues |
| Thermo FastPrep ® cell disrupter | DNA-RNA protein isolation |
| Cryostat | Well-suited for generation of high-quality frozen tissue sections |
| BC Accuri™ C6 (immunophenotyping platform) | Compact cytometer making flow cytometry more accessible. Easy workflows for popular applications |
| BD FACSAria™ Fusion Sorter (immunophenotyping platform | High-speed sorter with a fixed-alignment cuvette flow cell in a biosafety cabinet. Provides multicolour analysis. |
| TECAN spectrophotometer | Multimode microplate readers with access to a full range of detection methods |
Private and public sector research partners
- McGill University