Equipment

Cryobiotechnology, Clinical Stem Cell Technologies and Automation Processes

Cell biology laboratory, equipped with:

Molecular biology laboratory, equipped with:

QuantStudio 7 qPCR instrument for quantitative gene expression studies
Thermalcycler (AB 2720)
Bioanalyzer and Nanodrop for precise measurement of nucleic acids and protein concentration
electrophoresis systems for agarose gels and SDS-PAGE
equipment for recombinant DNA techniques

Biochemistry laboratory, equipped with:

hybridization oven for in situ detection of RNA
BioRad Chemidoc for quantification of nucleic acid/protein expression
Thermalcycler (AB SimpliAmp)
spectrophotometer
microcapsule/microcarrier producing system (co-axial air flow and Crystal Gun principle)
contact printer (GeSiM GmbH) a moulding system for the production of thin, biocompatible alginate films or for printing of protein patterns
3D scaffolder (GeSiM GmbH) for the production of three dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering
freeze dryer

Microscopy room, equipped with:

inverted cryomicroscope (own development, Peltier-based)
combined reflection/scanning force microscope for measurement of biological objects in aqueous environments
confocal inverted microscope
fluorescence microscopes, CLSM, LSM, incubation microscopes
high-speed camera for the visualization of ultra-fast processes like crystallization during cryopreservation or the validation of cross-linking processes

Automation laboratory, equipped with:

cell culture robots for the automated cultivation of cells:
- Nanoplotter 2.1 (GeSiM GmbH)
- TECAN Freedom 200 (TECAN)
- TAP arm (TAP BIOSYSTEMS)
micropipette system / automation platform

Cryopreservation laboratory, equipped with:

cryogenic storage systems (down to –196 °C) with liquid nitrogen storage tank
automated cryobanking system, currently with the capacity of 60,000 samples (hermetic storage, ASKION)
Cryo-Workbench (ASKION) for the handling of frozen samples below -100°C
vitrification facility with novel substrates for sterile vitrification processes
computer-controlled freezers (Sylab, Asymptote)
cryomicroscope including high-speed camera
"Freezing Spin Coater" for the freezing of ultrathin layers (own development)
modified programmable automatic freezer for applications in biology, materials science and electronics
high-speed camera system for analysis of fast biological and biophysical processes (e.g. microdrop-based freezing)
thermography system (temperature measurement range –20 °C to +250 °C)
thawing device for plasma bags
cryogentic osmometer (Gonotec)

Biomedical Optics

ultra-short pulsed Ti:sapphire laser, various additional pulsed and cw laser sources
multiphoton laser scanning microscope with spectral imaging module (Zeiss LSM510-Meta-NLO)
epifluorescence microscope with CCD unit
versatile platform for development and evaluation of laser scanning imaging technology (established as standard: confocal fluorescence and Raman microscopy at 375, 532 and 785 nm excitation, multiphoton microscopy at 710-990 nm excitation, detection by 1024-channel spectrograph, option for subsequent correlation of measured values)
ultra-short pulse technology: pulse picker, frequency doubler, beam analysis systems
low-temperature microscopy equipment
equipment for time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) for fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) and spectral FLIM
measurement electronics (pulse generators, oscilloscope, lock-in amplifier, etc.)
fluorescence spectrometer (200-900 nm), UV/Vis/NIR absorption spectrometer (200-3300 nm)
Peltier-cooled CCD spectrometer (Andor Idus)
hardware correlator ALV-5000
piezotables for various control ranges
spin coater
differential scanning calorimeter Perkin Elmer DSC 8500 (-180 °C to +750 °C)
Lab View development environment
Zemax: optical design software
clean room for the extraction of high-purity alginates

Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering