High-throughput screening (HTS) - Prinses Máxima Centrum

Purpose for research

Automation of lab experiments has several advantages, for example:

You save time as a researcher
The quality of the experiments is increased and
You can easily scale-up the experiments.

Drug screening is our main focus, as there is still a high need to find new drugs and drug combinations for pediatric cancer.
In general, we perform and support the development, implementation and analysis of high-throughput and time-intensive assays. All experiments aim to enable accelerated identification and validation of new treatment options for pediatric cancer as well as identifying key genes and proteins underlying the disease processes.

The highly flexible HTS platform enables the performance of a variety of high-throughput assays (e.g. ELISA, cell viability, staining), screens using different types of molecules (e.g. drugs, antibodies, or siRNAs) and read-out methods (e.g. absorbance-, luminescence- or fluorescence-based detection). Read-out using FACS and microscopy can be performed at other core facilities.

Services and support

We offer a full-service model with:

Assay development and validation – we can give support in the translation of research questions into assays suitable for high-throughput screening.
Carrying out the high-throughput screens
Data analysis support

Equipment overview

The HTS facility consists of a state-of-the-art robotic system of 15 different machines, enabling the automation of many lab experiments. It is a full-service facility, whereby the HTS team performs the control of the complex system. It is publicly available to all interested, although our main focus is facilitating research for pediatric cancer. As highlights, we have:

Beckman Coulter Biomek i7 Hybrid pipetting workstation.
Echo 550 liquid handler for acoustic liquid handling for precise nL transfer volumes of drug solutions.
The automated version of most used lab equipment (e.g. think of centrifuge, sample heating/cooling)
Several drug libraries.

Drug screening is our main focus, as there is still a high need to find new drugs and drug combinations for pediatric cancer. Dr. Selma Eising - Coordinator High Throughput Screening

Dr. Selma Eising is the coordinator of the high-throughput screening facility, that performs work for seventeen research groups in theMáxima Center as well as external groups in collaborations. She is chemist by training, and her expertise on drug testing as well as the complex robotic system brings a wealth of knowledge about the possibilities on lab automation.

Contact

This facility is embedded in the Molenaar group and made financially possible by donations of KiKA.

Phone -

Email hts@prinsesmaximacentrum.nl