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Facilities
 The Cady research group occupies a 1,000 sq. ft. laboratory containing a full suite of biological and biochemical research equipment. This equipment includes incubators for cell growth, fume hood, -80°C and -20°C freezers and refrigerator, a Nik on 80i epifluorescence microscope with CCD camera, Tecan M200 microplate fluorometer/plate reader, electrophoresis equipment, centrifuges, autoclave, and other equipment needed for bacterial cell culturing and biochemical experimentation. In addition to biological equipment the lab is outfitted with soft lithography fabrication tools for the manufacturing of microfluidic devices.
The lab is contiguous with the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering facilities, including state of the art semiconductor processing and metrology equipment. CNSE facilities encompass a 450,000 square foot complex that houses the most advanced 200mm/300mm wafer facilities in the academic world, including over 60,000 square feet of Class 1 cleanrooms equipped with 300mm wafer processing tools. The complex incorporates state-of-the-art, R&D and prototype manufacturing infrastructure for nano/microelectronics, nanophotonics and optoelectronics, and nano/micro systems (MEMS) technology. CNSE also has a full suite of metrology tools including electron microscopes, light microscopes, and surface analysis tools. As part of the Nanobiosciences Constellation within CNSE, Prof. Cady’s students have access to all of these equipment and facilities.
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Highlighted Equipment
BioForce Nano eNabler System
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The Cady research group is currently evaluating the BioForce Nano eNabler system for the precise patterning of biological molecules onto surfaces. The Nano eNabler™ system is a highly flexible molecular printer that can dispense minute volumes of liquid at defined positions to create patterns of spots or lines with high spatial accuracy. The system is based on BioForce's proprietary FEMTO (Fluidics Enhanced Molecular Transfer Operation) process. This technology enables the deposition of the 1-30 μm sample droplets quickly, precisely and with reduced clogging.
BioForce Nano eNabler |
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The core of the Nano eNabler system is a compact precision motion control platform mated to a microfabricated surface patterning tool (SPT™) with integrated microfluidics. Molecules to be printed are loaded into the SPT™ reservoirs by pipet for the ultimate in simplicity. A variable intensity laser and position-sensitive photodetector are employed to monitor the contact time and force between the SPT™ cantilever and the surface being patterned. In this way, the user is able to precisely control the volume of liquid being dispensed and the resulting feature size. Sophisticated electronics and a powerful user interface provide millisecond control over each deposition event. To ensure consistent printing, a constant humidity is maintained by an environmental chamber and computer-controlled humidifier. The entire process can be viewed through a high resolution optical zoom microscope and CCD camera with video displayed within the NanoWare™ software. To minimize the instrument’s footprint, the computer has been integrated into the controller.
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Microscopy
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The laboratory is outfitted with two optical microscopes, a Nikon 80i epifluorescence microscope and an inverted phase contrast microscope. The Nikon epifluorescence microscope has an integrated QICAM cooled CCD camera and has multiple fluorescence cubes for blue, green and red fluorescence imaging. This microscope is capable of both transmission microscopy and epi-illumination and has 10X, 20X and 40X (long working distance) objectives. The inverted phase contrast microscope has an integrated digital camera for still and video image capture. |
Microplate Fluorometer / Plate Reader
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The Tecan Infinite 200 plate reader is a monochromator-based fluorescence/ absorbance/ luminescence plate reader that is capable of multiple measurement modes. The system supports the following eight detection modes for sample measurements in 6-384 well plates, PCR plates or cuvettes:
- Fluorescence intensity top and bottom reading
- Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)
- Time resolved fluorescence (TRF)
- Fluorescence polarization
- Flash luminescence
- Glow luminescence
- Dual color luminescence
- Absorbance
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