Services & Equipment

Services

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Sample Acquisition

The Cancer Pharmacology Core Sample Acquisition Service is a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory providing accurate processing, temporary storage and/or shipment of study samples from clinical trials conducted by UWCCC investigators.

All samples received are entered into the FreezerWorks Unlimited® system to allow efficient tracking of the Cancer Pharmacology Core sample inventory, with weekly quality assurance procedures and storage of data on the Cancer Pharmacology Core’s dedicated server.

Shipping

Staff are certified to ship the following Hazardous Materials:
Class 6 – Division 6.2: Infectious and Biological Substances
Class 9: Dry Ice and GMO/GMMO
Exempt Human and Animal Substances

Equipment for sample processing and storage

The following are dedicated to sample storage and tracking. They are continuously monitored 24 hours per day by the Reese Web Alarm system. The system automatically contacts multiple staff in the event of a temperature going out of range. The freezer probes are calibrated annually.

3 -80°C freezers
1 -70°C freezer
1 -20°C freezer
1 Refrigerator

Centrifuges are calibrated and maintained annually. They are all capable of refrigeration.
BSCs are certified annually.

2 Biosafety cabinets
2 Allegra X-22R Centrifuges
1 Allegra X-15R Centrifuge –Capable of spinning larger tubes at 5000 RCF
1 Cellometer Auto 2000 Cell Viability Counter

Kit Drop Off

Please fill out the Kit Drop Off form indicating that you have dropped off a kit and include the study number and the intended use date.

Phamacokinetic Assays

Major instrumentations for analytical assays are HPLC, LCMS and LCMSMS. These assays may be performed in any substrate including plasma, serum, urine, whole blood, erythrocytes or tissue.

Drug Metabolism Cocktail Available

  1. Midazolam (CYP3A4)
  2. Omeprazole (CYP2C19)
  3. Tolbutamide (CYP2C9)
  4. Dextromethorphan (CYP2D6)

In addition to the currently available assays listed below, the Cancer Pharmacology Core will develop, validate and run almost any assay needed in your research.

5-FU and metabolites Norepinephrine
Capecitabine and metabolites (5FU, DFCR, DFUR) Perifosine
Daidzein and Genestein Polyamines
Docetaxel, Paclitaxel Drug metabolism cocktail
Doxorubicin Rituximab
Etoposide UAB30

Pharmacodynamic Assays

The Cancer Pharmacology Lab will validate and run a variety of PD assays.

The following assays have been validated:

  • Bone health panel: Parathyroid Hormone, Retinol, Calcium
  • Histone acytylation via chromatin precipitation (p21, HSP70, Nur77, CYP3A4)
  • HIF-1a
  • Prostate cancer panel: IGF1, IGFBP3, Testosterone, PSA, Urine 2-Hydroxyestrogen and 16alpha-hydroxyestrone
  • Reactive oxygen species via electron paramagnetic resonance imaging
  • TGF1, TGF2
  • VEGF pathway (VEGF, bFGF, MIP1, VEGFR1, VEGFR2)

Preclinical Analytic Services

The Cancer Pharmacology Lab provides analytical chemistry services using HPLC or LC-MS to quantify small molecule drugs in user provided biological samples including blood, urine or tissue.

Studies

The Cancer Pharmacology Lab offers the following areas of assistance on studies:

  • Advice on appropriate experimental design
  • Problem definition and statistical methodology
  • Definition of study endpoints
  • Sample size requirements
  • Definition of data items required
  • Determination of randomization and stratification

If necessary and for clinical and population-based studies:

  • Selection of study subjects and appropriate control groups
  • Recruitment strategies
  • Availability of data from related studies
  • Design of case report forms
  • Monitoring of studies
  • Data management or electronic transfer of data from other related studies
  • Development of systems for quality control, progress reports, and presentation of interim analyses
  • Determination of appropriate statistical methodology
  • Production of final study reports including graphs and tables or other summaries suitable for presentation and publication
  • Interpretation of statistical results, appropriate documentation and relevant literature

Equipment

The Cancer Pharmacology Lab offers the following equipment for use by investigators. View charges for associated fees, and log into iLab to schedule equipment.

  • Agilent 1100 Series LC/MS with diode array detector (DAD)
  • 2 Shimadzu Prominence HPLC systems with fluorescence and UV detectors, one with DAD
  • NanodropND-1000 Spectrophotometer
  • SpectraMax M3 Micro-Plate Reader
  • Cellometer Auto 2000 Cell Viability Counter