Polymer Synthesis

Uludag lab is equipped with facilities to synthesize and characterize small organic molecules and polymeric materials. A synthesis workstation with the capacity to synthesize 24-96 compounds at a time is available to create molecular libraries.

Local Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facilities are available to characterize the structure of the synthesized entities. Routinely used instruments include UV/Visible spectrophotometer (for polymer composition, polymer reactivity, protein assays, etc.), a Waters High Pressure Liquid Chromatography with a photodiode array detector (for analysis of protein conjugates, molecular weight distribution of polymers), and a Precision Laser Light Scattering Instrument (for analysis of molecular sizes and hydrodynamic radius of polymers and proteins in solution). Access to local surface plasmon resonance instruments is possible to investigate biomolecular interactions.

Tissue Culture

A tissue culture facility is available for routine cultivation of cell lines and other cell types. Facilities to obtain primary cells from small animal models under sterile conditions have been established. Cell culture facilities are used to evaluate the biological performance of biomaterials and biological molecules - this is critical before animal experimentation. Tissue processing equipment is available for histological analysis of hard and soft tissues.

Radioactivity Work

A radioactive lab is functional for protein labeling to study biodistribution and targeting of therapeutic agents in animals. Animal studies are carried out at the Animal Health Services of the U. of Alberta. When necessary, imaging (microCT) and quantitative radiography (DEXA) instruments are utilized at the U. of Calgary and other facilities in N. America.