Central Research Laboratory

Overview

The Central Research Laboratory (CRL) was established in 2014 in Smt. Bangaramma Sajjan campus with financial support from BLDE (Deemed to be University). The primary purpose of the CRL is to support the research activities of the faculty, Ph.D. scholars, PG students, and UG students of the University by providing technical assistance and access to advanced and high-end scientific instruments. The secondary purpose of CRL is also to organize training programmes and workshops/seminars for staff and research scholars in the focused areas of research. The CRL with 1200 Sq. feet area provides sufficient space for multidisciplinary research.

Honorable President, B.L.D.E. Association Shri M. B. Patil, Honorable Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. M S Biradar, and Dr. Aravind Patil, Dean, Faculty of Medicine are guiding forces behind research activities in the University. The CRL in a medical college is built to provide teaching staff, researchers, and graduate students with easy access to high-end research instruments. For the further development of modern medicine, it is necessary to be fully equipped with advanced technologies such as medical, analytical, and information devices, and to utilize them in a systematic manner.

PREFACE: Teaching and Research go hand in hand and both are mutually reinforcing. To nurture research and strengthen the research infrastructure of the university, we have upgraded the Central research Laboratory (CRL) and established a Centre for Advanced Medical Research (CAMR) in the year 2021. Imbibing research culture in every student and faculty has been the vision of BLDE Deemed to be University leadership. This centre will make significant contributions to the field of biomedical research, promote student and teacher research, produce high-quality researchers, and contribute knowledge to Basic and advanced medical research. Currently, the CAMR is supported by BLDE Deemed to be University. We have developed the world-class lab infrastructure with the help of a global leader in total laboratory solutions and designs i.e. Kewaunee International Group.

The journey so far 2014: Establishment of Central Research Laboratory inaugurated by Hon’ble Chancellor Dr. M. B. Patil & Dr. V. M. Katoch, (Secretary, Dept. of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, Director General, ICMR, New Delhi) 2021: Upgraded as Centre for Advanced Medical Research.

Centre for Advanced Medical Research (CAMR): Is located in the Bangaramma Sajjan Campus, BLDE Deemed to be University’s Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre has been established to make significant contributions in the field of biomedical research, promote student and teacher training, and to produce high-quality researchers and to contribute the knowledge to basic and advanced medical research. Currently, the CAMR is supported by BLDE Deemed to be University. We are also having an animal facility, at present rats, mice, hamsters, and rabbits are available on requisition. This facility can be used to conduct preclinical trials.

VISION: To have multidisciplinary and distinct research approaches to identify, and understand the mechanisms and therapeutic controls of diseases and disorders.

MISSION: To take the thrust area in medical research like cancer biology, immunology, communicable and non-communicable diseases, bioinformatics, and drug discovery. Development of biomarkers for the early diagnosis of diseases. Ensuring access to cutting-edge technologies in health sciences.

OBJECTIVES:

To identify distinct cell signaling pathways in various diseases for better diagnosis and therapies.

To improve maternal and child health care research.

To identify key factors regulating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

To facilitate research in immunology and cancer biology.

To assist drug discovery research with bioinformatics tools and experimentation through pharmaceutical approaches.

To conduct research training and workshop programs for UG, PG, Ph.D. scholars, and faculty members.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

The Laboratory is equipped with HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (JASCO, Japan) High-performance liquid chromatography.

(HPLC) is a chromatographic technique that can separate a mixture of compounds and is used in biochemistry and analytical chemistry to identify, quantify and purify the individual components of the mixture. HPLC instrument is a very useful tool having a wide range of applications as follows.

HPLC can be used for the resolution, identification, and quantification of a compound. It also aids in chemical separation and purification. The other applications of HPLC include Pharmaceutical Applications 1. To control drug stability. 2. Tablet dissolution study of the pharmaceutical dosage form. 3. Pharmaceutical quality control. Environmental Applications 1. Detection of phenolic compounds in drinking water. 2. Bio-monitoring of pollutants. Applications in Forensics 1. Quantification of drugs in biological samples. 2. Identification of steroids in blood, urine, etc. 3. Forensic analysis of textile dyes. 4. Determination of cocaine and other drugs of abuse in blood, urine, etc. Food and Flavour 1. Measurement of Quality of soft drinks and water. 2. Sugar analysis in fruit juices. 3. Analysis of polycyclic compounds in vegetables. 4. Preservative analysis. Applications in Clinical Tests 1. Urine analysis, antibiotics analysis in blood. 2. Analysis of bilirubin, biliverdin in hepatic disorders. 3. Detection of endogenous Neuropeptides in the extracellular fluid of the brain etc.

Elisa Reader (also known as microplate reader) is designed to detect biological, chemical, or physical events of samples in microtiter plates. It is widely used in research, drug discovery, bioassay validation, quality control, and in the biotechnological industry and academic organizations.

Ultraviolet and Visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy is the measurement of the attenuation of a beam of light after it passes through a sample or after reflection from a sample surface. Absorption measurements can be at a single wavelength or over an extended spectral range. The applications of UV-Vis Spectrophotometer include; 1. Detection of geometrical isomers 2. Detection of functional groups 3. Qualitative analysis 4. Quantitative analysis of the compounds 5. Detection of impurities and 6. Chemical kinetics.

The Centrifuge is an instrument used in nearly every biomedical research lab across the globe. Centrifugation is a process by which a centrifuge is used to separate components of a complex mixture. By spinning laboratory samples at very high speeds, the components of a given mixture are subjected to centrifugal force, which causes more dense particles to migrate away from the axis of rotation and lighter ones to move toward it. These particles can sediment at the bottom of the tube into what’s known as a pellet, and this isolated specimen, or the remaining solution, the supernatant, can be further processed or analyzed.

Refrigerated Centrifuges are useful for centrifugation of temperature-sensitive material and find applications in routine and research work in research labs.

Laboratory incubators provide a controlled, contaminant-free environment for safe, reliable work with cell and tissue cultures by regulating conditions such as temperature, humidity, and CO2. Microbiological incubators are used for the growth and storage of bacterial cultures. Laboratory incubators are essential for cell and tissue culture, biochemical and hematological studies, pharmaceutical work, and food analysis.

Tissue Homogenizer: In order to extract the molecules of interest (extraction of RNA, DNA, proteins, metabolites, etc.) from biological samples such as human, animal, or plant tissues, or to lyse micro-organisms. A tissue homogenizer can be used.

The Ultrasonic Baths are very useful in

Healthcare/Clinical – the first stage of the decontamination process for reusable surgical instruments in dental, podiatry, and general practice settings

General use of glass, equipment, component cleaning, sonication of cytometer nozzles, dispersion and solubilization

Laboratories – cleaning of components, degassing fluids, mixing fluids and compounds, cell disruption, fluid dissolution

Industrial – light manufacturing

Biopharm – the dissolution of samples.

CELL CULTURE LAB

The cell culture room is a clean room made up of a Class-8 facility having a change room. We have the following types of equipment in this facility.

02 (two) Biosafety Cabinets (BSL-2), which can be used for the growth of all cell lines free of infectious agents, including the growth of replication incompetent viral vectors for gene delivery, etc.

To support in-vitro cell culture experiments we have CO2 incubators (02 No’s), a Water bath, a glass door freezer, and a cooling centrifuge.

Tri-gas incubator, Hypoxia-related cell culture work can be carried out using a tri-gas incubator, (Stress-related work).

LN2 storage container for preserving the cell Lines.

T-C20- automated cell counter and Inverted Microscope for observing and counting the cells.

FLOW CYTOMETRY

Flow Cytometry is a means of identifying and measuring certain physical and chemical characteristics of cells or particles as they travel in the suspension. The benefit of flow cytometry is the rapid simultaneous measurement of several parameters on a cell by cell basis. Flow cytometry uses fluorescent probes to identify and characterize cells or particles. Cells or particles tagged with fluorescent molecules enter the cytometer via a fluid stream. The cells then pass by a laser, which emits a specific wavelength of light. The fluorescent probes are excited by the laser and then emit light. The fluorescent signal is detected and amplified, then translated into an electronic signal, which is sent to the computer. Information about the size and granularity of a cell is recorded, as well. The result is a visual presentation describing an individual or group of cellular events. The cells or particles can be separated by sorting, or the information can be collected and analyzed. BD FACSLyric™ flow cytometer is a flexible, high-performance instrument in a compact footprint. The system is having 8 colors and is equipped with a blue, red, and violet laser. BD facs lyrics have inbuilt software BD FACSuite™ which supports the creation of user-defined assays for clinical research, and tools that facilitate instrument-to-instrument and site-to-site standardization. Along with that, we procured flowjo software for two years for research purposes.

MULTI-MODE PLATE READER

The Infinite 200 PRO is an easy-to-use multimode plate reader family that offers affordable, high-performance detection solutions, Referenced in more than 1800 peer-reviewed publications. Which can be used for quantification of DNA and RNA (Nanodrop), UV, fluorescence, and Luminescence-based assays. Which is having a Monochromatic based multimode plate reader, Specifications: Absorbance, Absorbance spectra, Fluorescence (top and bottom), Fluorescence spectra (top and bottom), Time-resolved fluorescence (TRF), FRET, TR-FRET, fluorescence polarization (FP), Luminescence (glow, flash, multi-color), Automated path length correction, Absorbance cuvette port, Nano Quant Plate™, Temperature control (RT +5°C to 42°C), Plate shaking (linear and orbital), QC tools for IQOQ services. Application: ELISA, DNA/RNA quantification, Nucleic acid labeling efficiency, Protein quantification, ATP quantification, Ca2+ detection, HTRF®, DELFIADLR® BRET (including Nano BRET™).

REAL-TIME PCR or qPCR

Real-Time -also known as quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR), and quantitative PCR (qPCR)—is one of the most powerful and sensitive gene analysis techniques available.

LIVE CELL IMAGING

EVOS-M7000 with Onstage incubator:

It is an advanced, automated imaging system with two high-resolution cameras (monochrome and color) for optimal and colorimetric images. It incorporates advanced automated imaging and data generation, including multi-well plate scanning and image stitching and tiling.

EVOS onstage Incubator is compatible for live-cell analysis with precise control of temperature, humidity, and gases.

It enables precise control of temperature, humidity, and three gases for time-lapse imaging of live cells under both physiological and non-physiological conditions.

Environmental settings and image acquisition parameters are all seamlessly integrated into the microscope user interface, creating a high-performance inverted imaging system with excellent flexibility, ease of use, and superb optical performance for demanding live-cell time-lapse imaging experiments.

CHEMI DOC (GEL DOC)

The ChemiDoc Imaging System provides fast, reliable, and sensitive imaging and documentation of gels and chemiluminescence western blots. This system is compatible with stain-free technology, chemiluminescence detection, and a wide range of gel stains such as ethidium bromide, SYPRO Ruby, Coomassie, and silver stains. The ChemiDoc Imaging System can be upgraded to gain the full fluorescent western blotting capabilities of the ChemiDoc MP System.

CENTRIFUGE

We have a Sorvall LYNX superspeed centrifuge which can go up to the speed of 29000 rpm having rotors of 50 ml and swinging bucket rotors speed of 7000 rpm and having a capacity of 400 ml. We have also procured a few centrifuges which can be used for 18000 rpm and have a swinging bucket rotor maximum speed of 6000 which is having different sizes of adopters, small cooling centrifuges which can go up to a speed of 14,000 rpm and can be used for 2 ml and 5 ml microfuges tubes. We have also procured a few micro-spin centrifuges.

PRECISION INCUBATOR, SHAKING INCUBATOR SAMPLE STORAGE FACILITY Precision incubator which can go -100 C to 500 C temperature; Shaking Incubator which can be used for microbiology and protein expression studies, which is having shaking of 200 rpm and temperature control. We have two -800 C, -200 C freezers and three 4-80 C double doors, and one single glass door freezer for the storage of tissues, serum samples, and Bacterial cultures for the research purpose. We’re also having liquid nitrogen storage containers for the storage of cell lines or stem cell-related research.

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM – FLOWCYTOMETRY