Supports flexible assay development, protein-based screens, and high-content live-cell imaging screens.
The Simon Fraser University Centre for High-Throughput Chemical Biology (HTCB) is the only academic-centric high-throughput and high-content facility equipped with a state-of-the-art roboticized screening platform in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, enabling a wide range of assays from live cell and target based.
Its fully automated, HEPA-filtered, robotic system supports flexible assay development, live-cell, and protein-based screening. With extensive compound libraries and a dedicated tissue culture facility, the platform enables clients to conduct diverse screens, from standard assays like cell painting and colorimetric MTT to customized protocols tailored to specific needs.
Clients benefit from expert staff offering guidance in assay design, optimization, and troubleshooting, along with the flexibility to screen custom compounds. The live-cell high-throughput imaging capability further enhances the platform’s versatility, making it a trusted choice for academic and industrial researchers alike.
- Automated high-throughput screening with flexible user-oriented services
- Pre-optimized assays of BioMAP, MTT and cell painting
- Tissue culture facility available to support assays
- Compound management
- Experimental development and optimization assistance
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
- Automated screening and imaging: Plate-handling robots integrating multiple other instruments including microscopes, plate readers and TECAN dispenser; high-content imaging systems (widefield microscope with multiple fluorescence channels and live-cell imaging capabilities); multimode microplate reader offering absorbance, luminescence, and fluorescence readings; automated incubators offering optimum settings for mammalian and bacterial cell growth; liquid handling systems; microplate carousel, centrifuge and washer dispensers; reagent dispensers; plate sealers and de-sealers; kinetic image cytometer (microscope capable of structure illumination microscopy (SIM) and electrical stimulation of cells); HEPA-filtered automation enclosure
- Tissue culture: Biological safety cabinets; CO₂ incubators (water-jacketed); imaging systems (four-colour fluorescence detection); microfluidic cell sorter with single and bulk cell sorting capabilities, microplate labeler and handler
- Compound libraries: Commercial compound libraries (>100,000 compounds); microbial natural product libraries (7,000 extracts, ~25,000 structures)