Jain Institute of Vocational and Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Liquid Chromatography System - AKTA PRIME PLUS

AKTAprime Plus is a low-pressure (1 MPa max with flow rate of 0.1-50 ml/min) chromatographic system from GE Healthcare line-up, designed primarily for protein purification. It is a small footprint, all-in-one system featuring a built-in rotary fraction collector, in-line UV monitor (selectable 254 and 280 nm), a conductivity meter (0.001-999.9 mS/cm), a gradient maker/mixer and an online pH monitor. The system is operated from the on-board chip through a simple, front-panel keyboard and can be used with either a dual channel recorder (Rec-112) or with the PrimeView software package

The system can be operated in a variety of ways including manual operation (real-time), pre-programmed protocols or custom/user-defined protocols. Pre-programmed protocols (“Application Templates”) include such popular and easily reproducible techniques as His6-tag/GST-tag affinity purifications and purification of monoclonal antibodies, all utilizing pre-packed media. The design of these templates is straightforward enough to enable a non-biochemical lab to successfully employ these techniques (e.g. for antigen purification or antibodies clean-up in an immunological lab

Monitor and evaluation software PrimeView™

PrimeView allows the user of ÄKTAPrime plus to view the monitor signals from the chromatographic run in real time on the computer screen. The Logbook pane displays all actions during a separation run, e.g. method start and end, base instruction, method instructions and manual instructions such as Pause or Hold.
A result file is automatically generated at the end of a run and contains a complete record of the run, including method information, system settings, curve data, and a run log.
The PrimeView Evaluation module provides extensive facilities to evaluate curve data and to generate a printed report from the stored result.

MINI PROTEAN TETRA CELL – for Protein Electrophoresis.

Bio-Rad’s new Mini-PROTEAN® Tetra cell is the next generation mini cell for 1-D vertical electrophoresis. Easy to assemble and highly reliable, the Mini-PROTEAN Tetra cell can run up to 4 SDS-PAGE mini gels simultaneously. The system offers a convenient hand casting stand and is compatible with either handcast or precast gels. The interchangeable module design allows the tank to be used for protein transfer with a mini trans-blot module. For error-free operation, the new Tetra cell lid is designed to ensure correct electrode polarity and incorporates a clamping wing mechanism to guarantee a tight seal. The Mini-PROTEAN Tetra cell eliminates tedious assembly procedures, and has a patented sealing mechanism* that prevents assembly errors.

Liquid Chromatography System - AKTA PRIME PLUS

Monitor and evaluation software PrimeView™

MINI PROTEAN TETRA CELL – for Protein Electrophoresis

Refrigerated Centrifuge

The sedimentation of cells, bacteria, yeasts, DNA / RNA and protein precipitates is workaday routine in basic research and our laboratories. The centrifuge possessed by us is Universal 32 R from Hettich (German make), which can be programmed to work between -20°C to +40°C. The centrifuge can be fitted with rotors and adaptors of various capacities thus facilitating us to centrifuge volumes ranging from 1.5ml to 100ml at various speeds upto 18,000 rpm depending on the rotor.

Apart from the above we also possess 4 other centrifuges.

Thermal Cycler (PCR)

DNA amplification for molecular biology work and DNA fingerprinting work is one of the common activities at our institute. The amplification is done in a MJ Research Thermal Cycler (PTC 200). This thermal cycler is powered with a peltier element to facilitate the heating and cooling activities. We possess the mono block (96 wells) and also the dual block (0.6ml – 38 wells) and (0.2 ml – 40 wells). The gradient feature available in the machine is a boon for quick standardizations of protocols.

Incubator Shakers

There are 4 Incubator shakers housed at our institute. The incubator shakers range from pilot plants to heavy duty ones. The shakers possess an illumination system for cell culturing and also have the ability to maintain temperatures from +4 oC to +60 oC at a rpm range of 0 – 300. These shakers are utilized for culturing of bacteria and production of liquid cell culture of plants and for the production of secondary metabolites here.

Gel Documentation System

Documentation of the gels and TLC plates play a vital role not only as a method of preserving the obtained results but also for the interpretation and analysis of the same to arrive at conclusions. We possess a Gel Documentation system from Hero Labs, Germany. It is empowered with softwares like EASY W.I.N 32 and Gel Compare II, which are involved in the documentation and analysis of Agarose & PAGE gels and TLC Plates, fingerprinting analysis, construction of Dendrograms and Cluster Analysis.

Fermentor

Fermentation forms a vital part of life science discoveries and production. The fermentor at GENOHELIX is a semi automated, stainless steel type from Scigenics. The fermentor comprises of custom-made boiler, chiller, fermentation vessel (3 litre capacity) with pH and DO probes which can be operated by a control panel. The fermentor is used for batch, continuous and fed batch kind of fermentations of organisms for the mass production of economically important products such as enzymes, antibiotics and other proteins.

HPLC

High Performance Liquid Chromatography is a very important technique in the field of life sciences and mainly pharmaceuticals for analysis and purification of required compounds. The Waters HPLC at GENOHELIX possess a binary pump which allows the analysis of the samples using a gradient mode of solvents and the binary detector in the system allows for the detection of the compounds at different wavelengths. The column used is of the symmetry C18 (reverse phase) type, which has wide application in almost 95% of analysis. The integrated breeze software helps the user to integrate the results and also the calibration option available, quantitates the analyte. The options for obtaining the chromatogram in the required format are an added advantage. At GENOHELIX the instrument is used to identify different components in a mixture of chemicals, to quantify the different concentrations of the active ingredients in a given formulation which can be of a pharmaceutical, pesticide or organic source. It is also used to develop methods for identification and quantification of different analytes from various sources.

ELISA Reader & Washer

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay is a widely used technique for the diagnosis of diseases and quantification of proteins. The ELISA Reader and Washer possessed by us is from Tecan and can facilitate the processing of 96 wells microtitre plates for indirect, direct and sandwich ELISA.

The sunrise touch screen enables the user to control the reader and evaluates obtained data, using the onboard software - Magellan CE. This offers the user the possibility for full instrument control, data reduction and storage. It also supports numerous applications as ELISA’s or kinetic studies. Enhanced curve fitting and screening tools, as well as the possibility to combine several assays on one plate, are added advantages.

The Columbus Washer is an in vitro diagnostic instrument for strip wise processing of micro plates in the 96 well format. The instrument can use up to nine software user-defined plate types that control the dispensing and aspirating positions for round or flat bottomed plates at optional levels of speed.

The above two machines are being used regularly for the diagnosis of diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis, Parasital infections and many more at our lab.

Biosafety Cabinet Class II Level

Safety conditions play a vital role when working with pathogens. These conditions cannot be obtained by using a normal LAF and thus there is a need for Biosafety Cabinets. The working area of our biosafety cabinet (Alpha Scientific) is 6’x2’x2’ and compiles with international standards BS 5726, NSF No 49, AFNOR NFX – 44 – 201 for total disinfection. The cabinet consists of a sliding type drain pan, UV lamp (30 W), fluorescent lamp, pre filter of 5µ pore size, HEPA filter of 0.3µ pore size at an efficacy of 99.97%, 5mm perforations at 10mm pitch on front and rear edges.

Water Purification System

Purified water is an essential resource in all laboratory environments. The Elix (Millipore) water purification system serves as the ideal solution to meet each of our laboratory’s daily application needs for pure water. Pure water from the Elix system is used for Microbiological media preparation, Buffer preparation, Preparation of chemical and biochemical reagents, etc.