The facility provides a range of histology and immunohistochemistry services for the research groups. It offers routine processing for all types of fixed tissue for paraffin-embedded histology, cryomicrotomy, cell pellet processing, H+E staining and special histology stains. A Thermo Excelsior machine offers large-scale tissue processing, while a Finesse microtome allows consistent sectioning quality. Material for PCR investigation can be sectioned from both paraffin-embedded and frozen material. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence work can be undertaken with the laboratory utilising a Dako Autostainer for large-scale immunohistochemistry investigations. In addition, we provide in situ hybridisation using a reagent system designed to visualise cellular RNA targets in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections and bright-field microscopy. Staining for this is performed on a Leica Bond RX autostainer, and specific probes can be purchased or designed to exact specifications by external companies.

The service provides routine sequencing of plasmids using an Applied Biosystems 3130xl (16 capillary) sequencer with a turnaround time of 24 hours. It also has the capacity to do next-generation sequencing with an Illumina NextSeq500 sequencer applying ChIP-seq and RNA-seq protocols. A Qiagen 8000 Robot is used for routine small and large-scale DNA purification from overnight bacterial cultures. Human cell line authentication using the Promega Geneprint 10 Kit is available as an internal service, as regular cell line authentication is important to confirm data integrity and is increasingly requested by journals.

This service provides a diverse range of support including:

• Information and advice on cell line authentication services
• Mycoplasma screening
• Cell-derived matrices
• Support for tissue culture
• Supply of buffers