Texas A&M University

Institute for Genome
Sciences and Society

SHARED WORKSPACE EQUIPMENT

The TPPC maintains and manages a large number of shared workspace equipment that registered users can reserve for their research needs. See below for how to become a registered user and a list of our shared workspace equipment.

To Become a Registered User

1. AUP confirmation for behavior tests:

All behavior tests conducted in TPPC should be listed in your Animal Use Protocol (AUP). Please contact us if you have any questions or need assistance in designing your research project with RPPC service or preparing an AUP, Manuscripts, or Grant proposals.

2. A valid iLab account:

Anyone using TPPC service requires a valid iLab account with an unexpired funding source. See below for instructions.

  1. Go to Texas A&M Preclinical Phenotyping Core iLab
  2. Sign-up with TAMU or your institution’s credentials.
  3. Click the three-bar icon located in the upper left corner, to the left of the Agilent Cross Lab logo.
  4. Go to Manage Groups/My Groups.
  5. If your lab group is not listed under “My Groups,” click Request Group Access and follow the on-screen instructions.
  6. PI or Lab/Group Manager can accept your membership request and add a funding source. Instruction for PI/Manager: iLab — Membership Requests & Fund Numbers (agilent.com).

Equipment Reservation

Shared Workspace equipment is available for trained users or with staff assistance.

Trained user status is awarded per equipment to distinguish the users who can use the equipment without staff assistance. To obtain trained user status, please email TPPC@tamu.edu to schedule a free training session or to skip training if you already know how to use the machine by previous experience.

Once trained user status is granted, please go to Texas A&M Preclinical Phenotyping Core iLab and click Schedule Equipment tab to create reservation.

Staff assisted use is available with an hourly fee. Please email TPPC@tamu.edu for further information.

Specialties

Chemistry Panel (DxC 700 AU), Spectra Autostainer, and Tissue processor are only available through service request rather than Equipment reservation. Find more information on the service page.

Behavioral/Skeletomuscular

Instruments: DigiGait, Chatillon Force Measurement, Coulbourn Habitest System, Open Field (8 mice at a time), Three Chamber Sociability (3 mice at a time), Barnes Maze, Radial Arm Maze, Rotarod Test (5 rats or mice at a time x2), TruScan (2 mice at a time), Water Maze

From skeletomuscular qualities to behavioral and learning with mazes and fear conditioning. Detection for all mazes except for TruScan and Water Maze is supported by Noldus EthoVision XT17.

Location: LARR

Clinical Pathology

Instruments: VetScan HM5 Color Hematology System, DxC 700 AU (Serum/Plasma/Urine Chemistry), OsmoPro Multi-Sample Micro-Osmometer

Run CBC (22 parameters with WBC differentials), osmolality measurement, and various chemistry panels of your choice. Chemistry panel requires a service request. Please visit the services page for details.

Location: REYN

Cardiovascular

Instruments: ECGenie, Hatteras Multi-Channel Blood Pressure Analysis System (4 mice or rats at a time, tail-cuff method)

Obtain electrocardiograms and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial) from awake mice or rats through non-invasive methods with real-time waveform displays.

Location: LARR

Metabolic

Instruments: TSE PhenoMaster (32 cages a time), Hatteras Metabolic Cage (30 cages a time)

Measure consumption of food, drink, locomotor, and O2/CO2 with PhenoMaster and collect clean, uncontaminated urine and fecal samples with the Metabolic cage for further analyses.

Location: LARR & MREB II

Histology

Instruments: Leica ASP300 Tissue Processor, Leica CM1950 Cryostat, Leica EG1150 Tissue Embedding, Leica RM2165 Rotary Microtome, Leica HistoCore SPECTRA Workstation (includes both stainer and cover slipper)

Anything from tissue processing to stained slide coverslipping. Tissue processing, slide staining, and slide coverslipping require a service request. Please visit the services page for details.

Location: REYN

Protein

Instruments: Cytek Aurora Flow Cytometer, Bio-Rad Bio-Plex Luminex, Protein Simple Jess Automated Western Blot System

Perform flow cytometry, multiplex, or western blot. Aurora offers flow cytometry with 4 lasers (16V-14B-10YG-8R), 3 scattering channels, and 41 fluorescence channels. Jess offers multiplexed Western blot with ELISA.

Location: REYN

Rodent Imaging

Instruments: EchoMRI-100, EchoMRI-900, Vevo 3100 Ultrasound, Stortz Endoscope

Mouse Anesthesia is available with SomnoSuite for ultrasound and endoscope. EchoMRI measures fat, lean, free water, and total water masses in live, awake animals weighing up to 100g.

Location: LARR (all except for EchoMRI-900) & MREB II (EchoMRI-900)

Other

TSE Whole Body Inhalation Chamber

Toxicant (gas, vapor, and aerosol) exposure in their own cage.

Location: REYN

TubeWriter 360

Print anything on various sizes of tubes, vials, microscope slides, and more.

Location: REYN

Pricing Information

Please visit Texas A&M Preclinical Phenotyping Core iLab or email TPPC@tamu.edu for the most recent pricing information.

Location

All locations open 24/7, staffed Mon-Fri 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

REYN

Address

206 Olsen Blvd., Reynolds Medical Sciences Building (REYN), Rooms 472/473 (Staff Office) and 419/420, College Station, TX 77843

Parking

  • Visitor parking (paid): Lot 72a, Lot 72b
  • University Business parking: Lot 72a, Lot 72b, Lot 18, Lot 98
  • 30 minute parking available in Lot 18

LARR

Address

972 Agronomy Rd., Laboratory Animal Care Building (LARR), Rooms 135-143, College Station, TX 77843

Parking

  • Any valid TAMU permit parking: Lot 71
  • University Business parking: Lot 79, Lot 36a

MREB II

Address

8441 Riverside Pkwy., Medical Research & Education Building II (MREB II), Room 1331, Bryan, TX 77807

Parking

  • Any valid TAMU permit parking
  • University Business parking (2 hrs)
  • 15 minute lab space parking