Zebrafish screening facility
Zebrafish are an early-stage-vertebrate screening tool for drug discovery and toxicology. Companies and research organizations can access NRC’s zebrafish screening facility, which houses up to 10,000 zebrafish by entering into a technical service agreement or research collaboration.
Applications:
- customized testing of compounds;
- testing services for toxicology and pharmacological activity; and
- research collaboration in natural products.
Advantages of accessing the zebrafish platform:
- small quantities of test compound needed;
- early identification of lead drug candidates;
- short testing time;
- low cost solution (zebrafish provide rapid in vivo vertebrate data prior to undertaking expensive animal testing); and
- customized disease models through transgenesis and genome modification.
Preclinical toxicity profiling:
- acute, chronic, and cardiac toxicity testing;
- teratogenicity; and
- optically clear embryos allow morphological evaluation of organs by visual assays.
Identification of mechanism of action:
- mapping neuronal activity;
- identification of neuroactives based on neuronal hyperexcitibility.
“Omics” techniques:
- early gene reporters;
- transcript (miRNA and mRNA);
- proteomics and metabolomics profiling.
Pharmacological testing:
- development of pharmacologically induced neuro-hyperactivity / behavioural models;
- ALS, stroke, epilepsy, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease;
- assessment using known neurotoxins and channel modulators, such as GABA, sodium, potassium and NMDA.
Video tracking system:
- captures swim, sleep/wake and other behavioural responses with high-speed camera;
- numerous protocols for tracking, quantifying and analyzing vertebrate behaviours; and
- allows use of 96-well format.
Microscopy:
- TEM, SEM, epifluorescent
For information about this facility and its services:
Contact
Paul Neima
Telephone: 902-566-7444
Email: Paul.Neima@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
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