The Central Laboratory of School of Life Sciences was established in May 2005. Under the guidance of the general construction idea of "High starting point, high level and distinctive", the large-scale instrument and equipment supporting platform for life science research was built by drawing lessons from the construction experience of life science laboratory at home and abroad and combining the characteristics of education and scientific research of Northwest Polytechnical University (NPU). In 2007, the "Laboratory of Space Bioscience and Biotechnology" of NPU became the first batch of key discipline laboratories of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission, and was named "Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology". The central laboratory is an important part of it. In the same year, the central laboratory became the first pilot unit for the open sharing of large-scale instruments and equipment of NPU. In 2015, the center officially became the open sharing unit of large-scale instruments and equipment of NPU, and its name was changed to “Experimental Sharing Center of Life Sciences”.

 

The central laboratory is equipped with a high-magneto gravitational environment (HMGE) lab, an analytical instrument lab, a precision optical instrument lab, a cleanroom (including biosafety 2+ laboratory, cell culture cleanroom, animal cleanroom with specific pathogen free (SPF)), and a cleaning and disinfection room. The total value of existing instruments and equipment is more than 42 million yuan, of which 11 sets are more than 1 million yuan. The diamagnetic levitation superconducting magnet (16T) that can be used to simulate the weightlessness effect in space flight and conduct magnetic science research is the world's leading and the only domestic similar equipment; confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), gene chip scanner system, optical knife/optical tweezers, atomic force microscope, coolant-free superconducting magnet, X-ray diffractometer, automatic microbial identification system, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, automatic pipetting workstation, atomic absorption spectrometer, ultracentrifuge, flow cytometry, etc. are all world-class equipment.

Since its establishment, the central laboratory has made bold explorations and attempts in laboratory management, established the service management concept of "Opening and sharing, scientific management, excellent service, facing the whole school and serving the society", to actively promote the open sharing of equipment. Functions and positioning of the center are as: instrument and equipment supporting, technical services, scientific research and teaching sharing platform. It is the core work of laboratory management to make the platform open and share and provide high quality and efficient technical services for scientific research and teaching. The central laboratory pays attention to the construction of management system and devotes itself to improving the technicians' experimental level and the management level of instruments and equipment. It not only ensures the convenience and quickness of the use of instruments, but also ensures the good operation of equipment and the steady improvement of the utilization rate of equipment. Since its establishment, the center has not only provided good technical services for the professional laboratories of School of Life Sciences, but also provided shared services for other colleges of NPU, as well as many universities and scientific research institutes in Xi'an and other regions.

 

List of Cell Bank

 

Category     Species     Name     of the Cell Line Description     Tumor     cell Homo     sapiens MG-63 Human     osteosarcoma cells Saos-2 Human     osteosarcoma cells U-2OS Human     osteosarcoma cells HepG2 Human     hepatocellular carcinoma cells SMMC-7721 Human     hepatocellular carcinoma cells Huh-7 Human     hepatocellular carcinoma cells MCF-7 Human     breast cancer cells BIU-87 Human     bladder cancer cells ACHN Human     renal adenocarcinoma cells 786-0 Human     renal adenocarcinoma cells Jurkat     clone E6-1 T-lymphocyte     leukemia cells CaCo-2 Human     colon cancer cells Mouse/Rat     L1210 Mouse     leukemia cells K562 Mouse     leukemia cells RAW264.7 Mouse     monocyte macrophage UMR106.01 Rat     osteosarcoma cells Normal     cells Homo     sapiens MRC-5 Human     embryonic lung cells WI-38 Human     embryonic lung cells HUV-EC-C Human     umbilical vein endothelial cells CCC-HEL Human     embryonic hepatocytes CCC-ESF Human     skin fibroblasts FLG29.1 Human     preosteoclasts hFOB1.19 Human     osteoblasts HMSC Human     bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells Mus     musculus/ Rattus norvegicus NIH/3T3 Mouse     embryonic cells MC3T3-E1 Mouse     embryonic osteoblasts B6-msc Mouse     bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells L929 Mouse     fibroblasts C2C12 Mouse     myoblasts 2T3 Mouse     preosteoclasts OCT-1 Mouse     Osteoblast-like cells MLO-Y4 Osteocyte-like     cells of mouse long bone MLO-A5 Mouse     osteocyte-like cells BHK Kidney     cells of young hamster H9C2 Rat     cardiac myocytes PT67 Reconstruction     of NIH3T3 C3H10T1/2 Mouse     primitive mesenchymal cells Bombyx     mori BMN Bombyx     mori ovarian cells SWAU Bombyx     mori embryonic cells Macaca     mulatta VERO-E6 Kidney     cells of african green monkey Others     Sf9 Ovarian     cells of Spodoptera exigua

 

 

Lab of Precision Optical Instrument

Lab of precision optical instrument is one of the characteristic laboratories of the central laboratory. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, optical tweezers system, atomic force microscopy, inverted/forward fluorescence microscopy, ultra-depth-of-field three-dimensional digital microscopy, stereoscopic microscopy and other advanced optical observation imaging equipment in this lab can meet the needs of life science researches. The total value of these instruments and equipment is nearly 8 million yuan. The combination of optical tweezers and optical knives can achieve various micro-manipulation and micro-processing, such as particle capture, pulling, cutting and drilling. It provides the possibility for micron-scale biological research, and is also an important tool for the study of single cell or organelles in the fields of cell biology, molecular genetics, immunology, genetic engineering, biological spectroscopy and so on. Atomic force microscopy has many imaging modes, which can analyze and characterize the surface morphology, structure and properties of specimens. It is widely used in materials science, chemistry, biomedicine and other disciplines. Confocal laser scanning microscopy can collect fluorescent labeling signals in tissues or cells, observe the changes of the concentration of important ions at the subcellular level and the morphological changes of tissues or cells and their internal micro-structures, perform a tomographic scan of the sample and reconstruct and analyze the three-dimensional structure of the tissue or cell.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (LSCM) is an analyzer in the field of molecular cell biology developed in the 1980s. It is a new generation of microscopy with the rapid development of laser, video and computer technology. Compared with traditional microscopy, it has incomparable advantages, such as high spatial resolution, non-invasive continuous optical section, three-dimensional imaging, real-time dynamic analysis and detection of cell structure and function.

The image below shows that atomic force microscopy has nanometer imaging resolution, simple sample processing and good field operation. It can work in vacuum and atmosphere as well as directly imaging in solution environment close to physiological conditions. The Pierre-Newton force resolution makes it possible to measure intermolecular/intramolecular forces or molecular manipulation at the single-molecule level.

 

 

Lab of Analytical Instrument

The lab of analytical instrument is composed of three rooms, one of which is the chemical analysis area. It can carry out precision weighing, spectral analysis, chromatographic analysis, ELISA and other experiments. Instruments in this lab include high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, multimode reader, ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrophotometer, particle size analyzer/ZETA potentiometer and various types of analytical balance. The second room of analytical instrument can carry out various biological analysis. It can be used for protein analysis and purification, protein electrophoresis, PCR, gel imaging, flow cytometry and so on. There are flow cytometry, two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis system, dual infrared imaging system, medium pressure chromatography system, low-pressure chromatography system, automatic gel imaging analysis system, real-time qPCR instrument and atomic absorption spectrometer. Analytical instrument room 3 is a room for placing centrifuge. Various types of centrifuges installed can meet different experimental requirements. It has large capacity centrifuges, allowing simultaneous centrifugation of 4000 ml samples; high-speed centrifuges for various orifice plates at low and normal temperatures, and ultra-high-speed centrifuges with a maximum speed of 100,000 rpm. The main instruments placed in the centrifuge room are: ultra-speed centrifuge, large capacity & high-speed refrigeration centrifuge, tabletop low-temperature & high-speed centrifuge, high-speed refrigeration centrifuge, freeze-dryer, etc.

 

Lab of High-magneto Gravitational Environment

This lab has three superconducting magnets, including two diamagnetic levitation superconducting magnets (JMT16T50F) and one coolant-free superconducting magnet. The maximum magnetic induction intensity of the diamagnetic levitation superconducting magnet is 16T, the magnetization level B (dB/dz) can reach -1500T²/m~1100T²/m, by which the gravity conditions from weightlessness to hypergravity (0G-2G) can be simulated, and the apparent gravity conditions at different levels can be simulated stably. It provides simulation experimental conditions for gravity-related scientific research in the fields of life science, material science, physics, chemistry, fluid mechanics, combustion and so on. The superconducting magnet is the leading magnet in the world and the only magnet with diamagnetic levitation ability in China at present. In this laboratory, the diamagnetic levitation characteristics of the superconducting magnet were used to simulate the microgravity environment in space, in which cells and small model animals were cultured for space biology research. The working aperture of the coolant-free superconducting magnet is 150 mm, which can produce a stable magnetic field of 0-12 T. All kinds of scientific experiments under steady magnetic field can be carried out. The laboratory provides an experimental platform for the study of biological effects from weak magnetic field to ultra-high-intensity magnetic field by using a self-made equipment for cell and animal culture.

The superconducting magnet (JMT16T50F) in this lab has the ability to levitate diamagnetic substances such as biology and water. The magnet is the third superconducting magnet with levitation ability in the world, and is the only magnet with levitation ability in China at present.

The     relationship between the position (Z) in the chamber of superconducting     magnet and the magnetization level [B. (dB/dz)] The     schematic diagram of sample position in superconducting magnet chamber and     the relationship between apparent gravity (G), magnetic induction intensity     (B) and magnetization level [B. (dB/dz)] Researches   by Using Superconducting Magnet Ÿ   Biological   effects of HMGE at molecular and cellular level: The   systematic effects of HMGE on cell structure and function and the biological   mechanism at molecular and cellular level were studied. (Project of NFSC:   "Systematic Study on the Effect of Large Gradient and High-intensity   magnetic field on the Structure and Function of Tumor Cells", No.   30670520, Shang Peng) Effects   of high magnetic-weightlessness on the cytoskeleton of osteoblasts Ÿ   Model   organisms study under HMGE: The   effects of HMGE on the whole embryonic development and gene expression   profile of model organism silkworm were studied. Effects   of weightlessness simulated by HMGE on embryo development of silkworm Ÿ   Crystal   growth of biological macromolecules: The   mechanism and potential applications of crystal growth under HMGE are studied   in this field, which can provide a reference for finding high-quality protein   crystal growth pathways. (Project  of NFSC: "Research on   Crystallization Process of Biomacromolecule in Large Gradient and High-intensity   magnetic field", No. 30570384, Yin Dachuan) Effects   of weightlessness simulated by HMGE on protein crystal growth

 

 

Brief Introduction of Biosafety II + (BSL-2+) Laboratory

The   design and construction of this lab are according to the General Requirements   for Laboratory Biosafety (GB19489-2004) and the WHO Laboratory Biosafety   Manual (April 2003 Revision) (ISO/DIS 14644-1) and other current standards.   The laboratory covers an area of about 60 m2. It has a first   dressing room, second dressing room, buffering room, core experimental area   and independent monitoring room with a cleanliness of 100,000. The core area   of the laboratory is about 25 m2. The laboratory is equipped with   biological safety cabinet, CO2 incubator, bacterial incubator,   centrifuge, refrigerator and sterilizer. The whole BSL-2+ laboratory has a   reasonable pressure gradient between the districts, and the temperature and   humidity are suitable for automatic control. The air in the laboratory is   filtered and discharged by high-efficiency filters, which will not cause harm   to the surrounding environment. The laboratory can satisfy the research of   infectious biology experiments involving harmful pathogenic microorganisms in   the life sciences such as space biology and space biotechnology. SPF/ Animal Clean Laboratory The   SPF/Clean Animal Laboratory covers an area of about 40 m2. It is   divided into preparation room, SPF Animal Laboratory, Clean Animal   Laboratory, Clean Animal Feeding Observation Room and Clean Feed Storage Room   with a cleanliness of 10,000. SPF Animal Laboratory has an independent air   supply aseptic animal cage (IVC). The cleanliness of the cage is 100, and it   is isolated from the outside world. It can eliminate animal infections and   cross infections to the greatest extent. The behavior of laboratory animals   can be observed by monitoring system in the observation room of clean animal   feeding. Brief   Introduction of Cell Culture Cleanroom Cell   culture clean room is divided into two independent cell culture laboratories,   four culture rooms, with a total area of 80 m2 and a cleanliness   of 100,000 grades. Inside, CO2 incubator, ultra-clean worktable,   inverted microscope, centrifuge, refrigerator, random positioning machine and   other supporting equipment can accommodate nearly 20 researchers to carry out   cell culture research at the same time. The clean room also introduced dozens   of standardized cell lines, which can meet the research needs of space cell   biology, space pharmacology and tumor cell biology.

 

 

Charging Standard for Sharing Instruments and Equipment in Central laboratory of School of Life Sciences

No. Name     of instrument (Services) Place     of production Model Category Charging     standard for School of Life Sciences Charging     standard for other colleges of NPU Charging     standard for off-campus Remarks 1 The     GeneChip® Scanner 3000 7G System U.S.A Affymetrix     3000 7G 1 300     yuan/pcs 500     yuan/pcs 1000     yuan/pcs Price     excluding chips 2 Real-time     qPCR instrument U.S.A CFX     96 Touch 2 60     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 100     yuan/h Price     excluding reagents 3 Real-time     qPCR instrument China FQD-96A 2 30     yuan /h 50     yuan /h 80     yuan /h 4 Automatic     pipetting workstation U.S.A Screen     maker 96+8 2 100     yuan/h 150     yuan/h 200     yuan/h 5 Chemiluminescence     system China T5200Multi 2 30     yuan /h 50     yuan /h 80     yuan /h 6 Atomic     absorption spectrometer Germany Analytikjena     ZEEnit700 2 120     yuan/h 100     yuan/sample 200     yuan/sample Price     excluding sample processing 7 Gel     imaging system U.S.A Get     Doc XR system 3 25yuan/h 40yuan/h 50     yuan/h 8 Super-depth-of-field     3D digital microscopy Japan     KH-8700 2 50     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 150     yuan/h 9 Dual-band     infrared imaging system U.S.A odyssey 2 30     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 50     yuan/h Price     excluding reagents 10 Dual-energy     x-ray absorptiometr U.S.A GE     PRODIGY 1 150     yuan/h 200     yuan/h 400     yuan/whole body scanning; 200 yuan/local scanning 11 Automatic     microbial identification system U.S.A MIDI 1 300     yuan/h 400     yuan/h 500     yuan/sample Price     containing reagents for sample processing 12 Flow     cytometry U.S.A FACSCalibur 1 100     yuan/h 150     yuan/h Single-labeling:     50 yuan per sample; Dual-labeling: 80 yuan／sample;     Triple labeling: 100 yuan／sample Price     excluding reagents and sample processing 13 Gas     Chromatograph U.S.A Agilent 6890 1 50     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 150     yuan／sample Hourly     charged experiments require to provide chromatographic columns by yourself 14 High     performance liquid chromatography U.S.A WATERS     ALLIANCE 1 50     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 300     yuan／sample The     price for establishing analytical method is 500-1000 yuan/ sample; The     price without providing mobile phases and chromatographic columns are 50yuan/h 15 Superconducting     magnet Japan JASTEC     16T/50mm 1 500     yuan /day 1000     yuan /day 1500     yuan /day Less     than one day counts as one day 16 Coolant-free     superconducting magnet U.K. OXFORD150MM 1 350     yuan /day 700     yuan /day 1000     yuan /day 17 Atomic     force microscope U.S.A PICO     Plus 1 120     yuan/h 200     yuan/h 300     yuan/h Price     excluding  sample preparation 18 Confocal     laser scanning microscope Germany LEICA     TCS SP5 1 120     yuan/h 200     yuan/h 300     yuan/h 19 Crystal     diffractometer U.S.A 1 100     yuan/h 200     yuan/h 300     yuan/h 20 Fluorescence     microscope Japan nikon     80i 2 50     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 150     yuan/h 21 Ultracentrifuge U.S.A OPTIMA     L-100XP 1 100     yuan/h 150     yuan/h 200     yuan/h 22 High-capacity and high-speed refrigerated     centrifuge U.S.A SORVALLRC-6 2 50     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 23 PCR仪 U.S.A ABI-VERITI 3 30     yuan/h 50     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 24 Ultrasonic     pulverizer China     Scientz92-II 3 30     yuan/h 50     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 25 Inverted     fluorescence microscope Germany MD     IL HC 3 40     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 26 Tabletop     high-speed refrigerated centrifuge Germany PrimoR 3 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 27 Microultraviolet     spectrophotometer Germany Nanophotometer 3 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 10     yuan/sample 28 High-speed     refrigerated centrifuge China GL-21M 3 25     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 50     yuan/h Not     in service 29 Tabletop     high-speed centrifuge China TG16A－WS 3 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 30 Tabletop     refrigerated centrifuge Germany Biofuge     primoR 3 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 31 Low-speed     tabletop centrifuge China TD5A－WS 3 10     yuan/h 15     yuan/h 20     yuan/h 32 High-speed     tabletop centrifuge Germany Biofuge     pico 3 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 33 Fluorescence     spectrophotometer Japan     F-4500 2 50     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 80     yuan/sample Full-wavelength     scanning requires additional charges 34 UV     spectrophotometer Japan U-3310 2 40     yuan/h 60     yuan/h 30     yuan/sample Full-wavelength     scanning requires additional charges 35 Multi-function     microplate reader U.S.A SynergyTMHT     Ser 2 60     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 120     yuan/h Reagent     free 36 ELISA     plate readers U.S.A Model680 3 30     yuan/h 40     yuan/h 50     yuan/h Reagent     free 37 Medium     pressure tomography system Germany AKTA     purifier 1 2 40     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 100     yuan/h Provide     chromatographic column by yourself 38 Cell     survival rate/concentration analysis system U.S.A Vill-Cell     XR 2 50     yuan/h 80     yuan/h 100     yuan/h 39 Particle     size analyzer U.K. Nano     zs 2 100     yuan/h Particle     size measurement: 50 yuan/sample; Potential     measurement: 50 yuan/sample Particle     size measurement: 80 yuan/sample; Potential     measurement: 80 yuan/sample Price     excluding the special potentiometric dishes 40 Freeze     dryer Germany ALPHA     1-2/LD-2 2 10     yuan/h 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 41 －196℃Liquid nitrogen preservation U.S.A Thermo     CRYO PLUS2 7403 2 1     yuan/tube/month 2     yuan/tube/month 4     yuan/tube/month 2ml/tube     42 Pure     water (15MΩ) Germany ELIX5 1 1     yuan/ L 2yuan/     L 3yuan/     L 43 Ultra-pure     water (18.2MΩ) Germany Milli-Q 1 2     yuan/ L 4     yuan/ L 5     yuan/ L 44 Ice     maker Japan SIM-F124 1 1     yuan/ kg 2     yuan/ kg 3     yuan/ kg 45 High     pressure autoclaves Japan Sanyo     MS3750 2 10     yuan/h 15     yuan/h 20     yuan/h 46 High     pressure autoclaves Japan Sanyo     MS3780 2 15     yuan/h 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 47 Freezing     microtome Germany CM1100 2 20     yuan /h 30     yuan/h 60     yuan/h 48 Ultra-Thin     semiautomatic microtome Germany RM2235 2 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h 60     yuan/h 49 Tissue     embedding workstation Germany EG1150H+C 2 10     yuan/h 20     yuan/h 30     yuan/h The     price does not contain paraffin, and the price of paraffin needs to be     increased by 10 yuan. 50 Animal     cleanroom China 2 1     yuan /day/㎡ 1.5     yuan /day/㎡ 2     yuan /day/㎡ This     price is for feeding by yourself, without the feed and mattress costs; if     it needs to be feeding by us, the price is negotiable.