Cell Shop

The CCTR Cell Shop in room E25-217 is a BL2 facility designated for biological characterization of medical devices and therapeutics. The space includes a biosafety cabinet, CO2 humidified incubator, centrifuges, refrigerator, and -80 freezers which are available for culturing and storage of biological specimens. A chemical hood, a vacuum oven, SLA 3D printers, and a plasma cleaner are available for device prototyping and manufacturing as needed. Bright field, fluorescence, and acoustic microscopes are available for use for sample inspection and characterization.

Microscope
Aorta in a chip device
Woman working in biosafety cabinet
Pipette and hood
Blood brain barrier
Heart models
Plasma
Stent and bifurcation designs
Thrombotic fingerprints device
Tissue engineered coronary artery
Microscope
Interested in using this facility or service?

Capabilities / Use Cases

Biocompatibility studies of medical devices/new (bio)chemical entities

  • Cytotoxicity assays: determination of IC50
  • Adhesion assays: cell-surface interaction (degree of cell adhesion on the material surface)
  • Proliferation assays: tissue/cell-surface interaction (monolayer vs multilayer cell coverage of the material surface)
  • Coagulation assays: blood-surface interaction
  • Inflammation assays
  • Fluid mechanic characterization (flow loops)

Prototype manufacturing of medical devices

  • SLA 3D Printing (using general or biocompatible materials)
  • Surface modification by plasma treatment

BL2 Biological Training (educational)

  • Aseptic technique
  • Cell culture: thawing, sub-culturing, freezing, aliquoting, media and other reagents preparation, storage of samples and reagents
  • Cell characterization techniques: light microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, immune staining, live/dead and proliferation assays
  • Managing biohazardous waste

Equipment List

  • Biosafety cabinet
  • Fume hood
  • CO2 incubator
  • Plasma cleaner with pressure regulator
  • Ultracold -80 (and -20) freezers
  • Bright field microscope
  • Fluorescence microscope
  • Acoustic microscope
  • Vacuum oven
  • Centrifuge
  • Water bath
  • Scales
  • (2x) SLA 3D printers (Included in the Device Workshop package)

Orientation and Training

Please contact the CCTR for details on the requirements to access this facility. Stay tuned for updates!