Flow Cytometer and Molecular Multi-User Facility

BIOS was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Improvements in Facilities, Communications and Equipment at Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSML) program to establish a Flow Cytometer and Molecular Multi-User Facility, as well as to acquire specialized equipment to better collect and preserve delicate plankton at sea. The equipment and facilities effectively expands molecular research opportunities for students and researchers and will help ensure that visiting researchers can obtain molecular data from samples on site rather than subjecting them to degradation or loss during shipping.

Equipment in the Multi-User Facility includes:

• A flow cytometer (an instrument that helps scientists rapidly quantify the number and types of cells in a sample)
• A tucker trawl multinet (a mechanical mid-water zooplankton trawl)
• A large volume pump
• A nanodrop (a UV-visible light spectophotometer that allows measurement of very small amounts of sample)
• A lifetech thermocycler (an instrument that allows scientists to target and amplify genetic sequences of interest)