Lab Support Facility

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The Lab Support Facility at Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) supports experimental biologists in their research work.
The main objectives of the facility are:

Provide a laboratory infrastructure for experimental sciences that enables the scientist to apply a brought spectrum of standard and advanced technologies in their work.
Provide best possible laboratory and surrounding conditions to allow the scientists to focus on their research work as much as possible.
Provide the necessary infrastructure that enables the scientists to ensure compliance of their work with the current Austrian legislation.
Provide the necessary means to enable safe working conditions within the laboratories.
Provide facility services that allow easy access to experimental resources (media, animals, plants, viruses, proteins etc.) and highly specialized equipment at a consistently high level to allow the scientists to focus on their scientific questions as much as possible.

For specific further facility details, please visit the Lab Support Facility web page: lsf.pages.ist.ac.at

On this site:

Services

Laboratory Equipment Infrastructure
Infrastructure equipment is research equipment that is shared by two or more groups on campus. The equipment is purchased and maintained by LSF funds, but operated by users.
Technical Support
Inspection of non-functional equipment and coordination of repair, supply with technical gases (including dry ice, liquid nitrogen, and liquid helium), support for off-campus technologies
Laboratory cleaning and waste disposal
LSF staff cleans laboratory areas to avoid critical mistakes by not sufficiently trained external staff. The disposal of laboratory waste is also organized by the LSF.
Goods receipt and operation of in-house shop
All external deliveries for the laboratories are centrally received and distributed by the LSF. The LSF also operates an in-house shop, allowing withdrawal of the most common laboratory consumables in a 24/7 fashion.
Lab safety
All issues regarding laboratory safety, in particular biosafety, radiation safety, handling of hazardous chemicals, definition of safe working procedures etc. are covered by the LSF. The aim is to assist all labs in establishing safe working procedures that are fully compliant with Austrian law.

Equipment

Overview of Lab Support Facility Equipment

Media and Cleaning Kitchen

Media Kitchen

The media kitchen provides services related to microbiology, cell culture and biochemistry. It produces custom culture media, plates and solutions to meet the individual needs of each user. In addition, commonly used reagents are kept in stock to be available 24/7. All media are checked on a regular basis for their sterility and shelf life to ensure reliable product quality.

Cleaning Kitchen

The cleaning kitchen collects dirty glass and plastic ware and redistributes clean and sterile material on a daily basis, five times per week. Custom sterilization of lab supplies, e.g. pipette tips, tubes by autoclaving or dry heat sterilization is offered. Biological waste is collected and autoclaved before disposal.

Aquatics Facility

The Aquatics Facility is a breeding facility for zebrafish (Danio rerio) and the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). It encompasses about 1’500 fish and 400 frog aquaria. The fish section started its operations in 2010, the frog operations started in 2020. The Aquatics Facility supports cell and developmental biologists on campus.

Services

Fish and frog care (e.g., feeding, health monitoring, welfare, etc.)
Maintenance breeding of specific lines
Cryo conservation
Documentation and compliance support
Cleaning and maintenance of facility

Plant Facility

The Plant Facility supports the plant biologists at ISTA in maintaining specific breeds (cultivating seedlings, growing plants, and harvesting seeds) in defined conditions. Fully operational since 2014, the Plant Facility is where Arabidopsis and Tobacco species are handled for current research projects.

The facility has a maximum capacity of 288 trays and is fully equipped with LED lamps optimized for plant growth.

Services

Plant care (e.g., watering of plants, pest control, etc.)
Maintenance breeding of specific plant lines
Cleaning and maintenance of facility
Stock keeping and ordering of consumables

Mass Spectrometry

Mass Spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique which can measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ionized molecules. The current MS service is focused on the identification and quantification of proteins in cells and tissues, as well as the analysis of protein-protein interactions and protein modifications by LC-MS on a Thermo Q-Exactive HF instrument. The service was established in 2019 and serves structural biologists, cell/developmental biologists, and neuroscientists alike.

Services

Project consulting
Sample preparation
MS analysis
Data analysis

Molecular Biology Service

The Molecular Biology Service was launched 2019 to support experimental biologists with the generation of molecular tools for work in living cells and tissues. It is currently focused on the development and production of different viral systems for gene delivery, including molecular cloning. A broadening of services (eg. generation of stable cell lines) is anticipated in the future.