Services

The SAIF currently runs an IVIS 200 imaging system (Caliper Life Sciences), with capabilities for serial, non-invasive fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging of mice and rats. The SAIF is available for use by UPCI, University of Pittsburgh and non-university members; and the facility is available for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The facility is primarily set up as a certified user facility, but we will also provide fee-for-service support as needed. Standard Operating Procedures {SOPs] for the use of the IVIS 200 system (including use with BSL2 animals), and for transport from other facilities are available for users.

To facilitate the successful use of this modality by investigators, the following services will be provided:

  • The SAIF director provides consultation for investigators to define the best model[s] and imaging modality[ies] to achieve their experimental goals.
  • The facility also provides hands-on training and technical support for users of the imaging platform and the associated anesthesia machine.
  • The facility provides a mechanism for on-line scheduling and payment for use of the imaging system for trained users.
  • Facility personnel are responsible for maintenance, repair, service and certification of the imaging system.
  • Facility personnel are responsible for maintaining adequate supplies of certain reagents associated with the imaging (e.g. anesthetic for the anesthesia systems associated with the imaging platform[s]).
  • We also provide a centralized ordering system to allow bulk orders of reagents, such as luciferin, at reduced prices for investigators.

The facility will also provide some reagents for imaging experiments. These include cell lines for tumor modeling in breast, lymphoma, lung, and bone cancers, in mice. In man, cell lines are available for breast, ovarian, brain, lung, bone, colorectal, liver, and prostate cancers (N.B. Users may be required to obtain MTAs for use of these cell lines). Additional reagents include retroviral and plasmid based constructs (and protocols) to generate new, stable cell lines expressing luciferase or fluorescent proteins. Further, we plan to provide non-commercially available, luciferase-expressing transgenic mice to be used as donors of immune cells for adoptive transfer models.