Microarray Facility

Dr. Qing Yan Liu
Research Officer, Synaptic Pathophysiology
NRC Institute for Biological Sciences
1200 Montreal Road
M-54 Room 1117
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6
Phone (613) 990-0850
Fax (613) 941-4475
Qing.Liu@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Created as a part of the National Research Council (NRC) Genomics and Health Initiative in 1999, the IBS microarray facility offers internal researchers, industrial, academic and government collaborators, extensive expertise in the design, production and utilization of custom DNA and microRNA microarrays, as well as high-density and pathway microarray analyses and data validation.  Equipped with a high-precision piezoelectric dispensing microarray printer with an on-board camera, capable of pattern recognition, this facility specializes in design and spotting surface coating chemicals or biomolecules (DNA, RNA and proteins) onto highly specialized (pre-patterned) surfaces.  Aligned with other NRC resources in microarray printing and analyses, the IBS Microarray Facility integrates expertise in high density and custom microarrays and development of bioinformatics approaches for target analyses and validation. Platform uses leading edge technologies to monitor changes in biomarker expression in disease and in response to drug treatments useful in development of molecular diagnostics and theranostics.

Equipment

• Pin –in a-ring contact printer
• Non-contact Nanoplotter 2.1, equipped with pattern recognition feature which allows the printer to deposit biological molecules onto pre-patterned wafers with high precision
• MWG-biotech liquid handling robot
• Advalytics hybridization stations (Slide Boosters)
• Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100 to assess the quality of RNA samples
• Bio-Rad VersArray scanners
• Genepix 4200A scanner from Molecular Devices
• ABI(7000 and 7500) and Bio-Rad Q-PCR thermocyclers
• Software: GenepixPro6.0, Array-Pro analyzer and BiominerTM

Services

• Custom design and printing of microarrays from oligonucleotides or DNA fragments
• Production of protein microarrays
• Spotting bio-molecules onto pre-patterned surfaces
• Microarray hybridization, scanning and data analysis
• Experimental design
• Design and spotting of pathway microarrays and microRNA microarrays
• Training in microarray printing, cDNA labeling, hybridization, scanning and data acquisition
• Bioinformatics support
• Quantitative PCR analysis for data validation
• Robotic transfers from 96 to 384-well plates for the purpose of dilutions or propagation of libraries
• IBS Microarray Chip Tracking database, Normalizer3, BioMiner

Facility management

The array facility is managed by Dr. Qing Yan Liu, a Senior Research Officer at the Institute for Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor (Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology) at the University of Ottawa.  Her research team focuses on using genomics, proteomics and metabolomics approaches to identify molecular networks, biomarkers and targets for the development of diagnostics and/or therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Diseases.  Dr. Liu’s group also maintains state of the art microarray/genomics infrastructure for current and future GHI projects as well as other NRC health sciences initiatives. 

Key Contact

Scott M. Ferguson
Director, Business Development and Research Services
National Research Council of Canada,
Institute for Biological Sciences
1200 Montreal Road, Building M-54
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6
Tel:(613)990-5948,
Fax:(613)957-7867
Email: scott.ferguson@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Related Information

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Biological Sciences