Office for Research and Graduate Studies (ORAGS)

Biacore Facility

Scientific Objectives:  Our main scientific objective is to provide the faculty, staff and students in the School of Medicine with the latest technology for the quantitative study of real-time binding interactions, specifically with an approach that is versatile, highly sensitive, and “user friendly”, with molecules that are label-free. The instrument we selected for this purpose is the Biacore 3000 Biosensor, which utilizes the optical method of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to measure binding interactions.  Using this instrument, the core and its staff can now provide accurate determinations of “on” and “off” rates for binding reactions, and, of course, the determination of affinity (association and dissociation) constants for binding. As it uses SPR, the instrument can effectively study interactions between a wide variety of molecules, including proteins, antibody-antigen, nucleic acids, lipids, peptides, drugs, as well as molecules as small as 360 Daltons. Speed, reproducibility and small sample consumption are hallmarks of experiments that utilize Biacore technology, making the core cost effective for all users.

Personnel:  The personnel required to operate the core facility are Dr. Katia Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, Assistant Professor/Core Director, and Ms. Dawn Catino, Research Specialist/Core Operator (CVs attached). Ms. Catino and Dr. Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos have been trained by Biacore personnel to operate and maintain the instrument, and to interpret and analyze the data it can generate. Dr. Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos and Ms. Catino regularly consult with users to design individual experiments, as well as to evaluate kinetics data.

Policy:  The policies for the use of the facility, and relevant charges, are as follows:

1. An IDT of $1000 is required before any experiments are performed.

2. Users are only allowed to make “hands-on” use of the Biacore if they have been properly trained by Biacore through the Biacore Basics class and have had enough experience that the core personnel feels comfortable that the instrument will be used without harm. (The microhydraulics of the unit are easily damaged and expensive to repair).

3. If users are properly trained by Biacore but have insufficient experience, then Ms. Catino will supervise their experiments until she feels that they can safely run the Biacore on their own.

4. If Ms.Catino is to perform or supervise the experiments, the customer will be billed for consumables as well as a charge of $50 per hour during normal working hours (9am-5pm) and $25 per hour after normal working hours (5pm-9am). If the customer is able to run the Biacore on their own then there is one rate of $25 per hour plus consumables. If the facility continues operating at 85-100% capacity, additional personnel may be needed to help operate the instrument.

Pricing:   Currently our price for Ms. Catino to run or supervise experiments is $50 per hour for any experiments run during normal operating hours (9-5pm) and $25 per hour for experiments run after normal operating hours (these are run on a automated program so no user is needed). Users that run the Biacore on their own are charged one rate of $25 per hour.

The equipment that is used in the Biacore facility is the Biacore 3000.  In late 2004, a “Recovery Accessories Kit” was purchased.  This kit is designed to facilitate the recovery of materials bound to the sensor chip, with high efficiency and in a small volume, for subsequent characterization (e.g., with MS techniques).

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