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Overview

As described in detail below, the prices for injection and cryopreservation services will increase ~10% on September 1, 2011.
A new price list will be posted the first week of September.

Announcement: Price Increases 2010-2012

The Transgenic/Knockout Core Facility is a shared service facility with a mandate to provide specialized services involving genetically engineered mouse models for the University of Maryland School of Medicine and allied institutions.

To that end, we have worked hard over the years to provide these services with professional efficiency, in a timely manner, and at a reasonable charge. In fact, subsidies from the School of Medicine have offset the cost of these services. While our aim is not to profit from this work, we do need to increase our fees to further offset our costs and decrease the level of subsidy provided by the SOM. In order to encourage research involving transgenic mice, we have kept our charges low in comparison to other academic, non-profit facilities, and haven't raised those charges in the past three years.

To lessen the impact on the research community, we propose raising fees for some services gradually over three years in cases where charges are lower than costs, and to keep them stable where we are recovering costs. The initial increase will be ~20%, and it is anticipated we will raise costs ~10% each of the next two years. We will still be a subsidized facility, and the increases after three years will still keep our charges below those of other comparable facilities as of this year. The prices listed are set for September 2010 through September 2011.

The Transgenic/Knockout Core Facility at the University of Maryland School of Medicine exists to provide assistance in all aspects of the generation of genetically engineered mouse models. The facility is located in Howard Hall, room 581, with animals housed in a separate, dedicated room in the HSF I 6th floor animal facility.

The main objective of the facility is to provide the expertise, equipment, and technology to produce and preserve genetically modified mouse models for researchers. We provide advice and consultation to investigators in the design of transgenic experiments, analysis of transgenic models, and maintaining transgenic colonies. Facility personnel are also constantly examining and testing new techniques in order to expand the range of services available to the UM community.

News

Injection of plasmid and lentiviral constructs into fertilized eggs, injection of embryonic stem cells into blastocysts, and electroporation of embryonic stem cells are the major services offered. Please check the sidebar or contact the facililty director for details.

Additional services include assisted reproduction, importation, line rescue, cryopreservation, mycoplasma testing of cell lines, and various molecular services related to genotyping and screening. All services are provided on a fee-for-service basis.

Please be aware that outside institutions are assessed a surcharge to our normal prices as follows:

  • 25% Academic and Non-Profit Institutions
  • 50% Commercial Entities
  • We are currently unable to do cryopreservations or breeding projects for outside institutions.

View our archived news on the History page. 

Services

Equipment

Micro-Injection

  • (2) Xenoworks micro-injection systems with Olympus IX-71 inverted microscopes equipped with DIC and phase contrast optics
  • (2) Nikon SMZ-1000 dissecting scopes
  • Nikon SMZ-645 microscope for animal surgery
  • Nuaire 425 biological safety cabinet for animal surgery
  • Sutter P-97 pipet puller
  • GlassWoRx F-1200 DeFonbrune type microforge

Electroporation

  • Bio-Rad Gene Pulser XCell system with Shockpod chamber

Cryopreservation

  • FTS Bio-Cool III controlled rate freezer
  • Taylor-Wharton HC34 liquid nitrogen cryogenic refrigerator

Tissue Culture

  • (2) Sanyo incubators
  • Nuaire 425 biological safety cabinet
  • Olympus CKX41 inverted microscope