CERCA FACILITIES

We are pleased to announce the recent addition of the Beckman Coulter CytoFLEX LX Analyzer to our Flow Cytometry Facility, part of the IDIBELL Scientific and Technical Platforms. This state-of-the-art instrument expands and strengthens our cell analysis services, providing researchers with access to the most advanced technologies in flow cytometry. It is especially notable for its outstanding expansion capabilities, ensuring optimal adaptability to the evolving needs of biomedical research. The system features an optical configuration with 4 lasers and 16 detectors, as follows: Blue 488 nm (3) | Yellow-Green 561 nm (5) | Violet 405 nm (5) | Red 638 nm (3) It also includes an automated 96-well plate reader, compatible with both standard and deep-well plates, facilitating high-throughput analysis. Another key feature is the high-precision peristaltic pump in the sample acquisition system, enabling direct absolute cell counting without the need for reference beads. With this new addition, we reaffirm our commitment to providing research groups with high-level infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies.

DIBELL has incorporated a new high-resolution spatial transcriptomics and proteomics platform in the Molecular Interactions laboratory of its scientific and technical services. The operation has been possible thanks to the achievement of a grant corresponding to the IFEQ22 call for Acquisition of Scientific-Technical Equipment and Infrastructure of the ISCIII. The high-resolution spatial tanscriptomics and proteomics platform CosMx (Nanostring, supplier Longwood) allows precise visualization and quantification of the expression of RNAs and proteins with “single cell” resolution in tissue sections of different sample types. It is based on highly sensitive in situ hybridization technology with high multiplexing capacity for the study of gene and protein expression.

A new STORM service is now available for the entire scientific community at the Microscopy Characterization Facility of Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). The STORM (Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy) technique is a powerful super-resolution microscopy method that allows researchers to achieve high-resolution images by sequentially activating and localizing photoswitchable fluorophores. It’s particularly useful for visualizing structures at the nanoscale.