By Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC)
The Cell Culture Service (SCC) is a scientific-technical unit of the Pascual Vila Research and Development Centre (CID). Its mission is to provide specialised support in ex vivo experimentation with cell models, both to IQAC and IDAEA research groups and to other public institutions and private companies interested in developing RD projects or research contracts. The SCC has two fully equipped biological containment level 2 laboratories and authorisation from the regulatory bodies to carry out contained use activities at Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2). It also has a cell cryopreservation area. Access to the cell culture laboratories is permitted only to authorised personnel, who must be familiar with the general and specific rules of the facilities by completing training that includes: - Safety measures and waste management. - Organisational rules - Training in the use of laboratory equipment. The Cell Culture Service offers a portfolio of services under two delivery modalities: self-service, or carried out by the unit's specialised technical staff: - Self-service use of the cell culture laboratories - Autoclave sterilisation - Use of the fluorescence microscopy unit - Cryopreservation of cell stocks in liquid nitrogen - Maintenance of catalogued cell lines - Mycoplasma detection - Cytotoxicity studies - Specific studies of specific enzymatic activities and any other study on request - Validation of culture media The Cell Culture Service has the following equipment distributed across all its laboratories: - 8 Class II Biological Safety Cabinets (Labogene Mars 1200 and Thermo Scientific MSC 1.2 Advantage). - 9 CO2 incubators (Various models: ESCO CCL-170B-8, Heraeus BB16, Heracell 150i, and Astec SCA-165DRS). - 1 thermal incubator with cooling unit (Memmert ICP-50). - 2 inverted microscopes (Olympus IMT-2 and Olympus CK2-TR). - 1 inverted fluorescence microscope with camera (Nikon Eclipse TS100). - 1 automated fluorescence microscopy platform for cell imaging (Invitrogen EVOS M7000). - Guava EasyCyte flow cytometer. - 2 automatic cell counters (Corning and Invitrogen CountessTM 3 FL). - 1 autoclave (Systec VX-150). - 2 liquid nitrogen storage tanks. - 2 refrigerated centrifuges. - 3 thermostatic baths. - Vortex and auxiliary equipment (refrigerators and freezers). - Super-resolution microscope with SIM and SMLS modules (coming soon)
