News

JRC labs added to the CERIC open access offer

Following the positive evaluation by the International Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee – ISTAC of CERIC, some of the state-of-the-art instruments at the JRC Nanobiotechnology Laboratory in Ispra have been included in the CERIC open access offer.

Such facilities allow interdisciplinary studies with a special emphasis on the characterisation of nanomaterials, nanomedicines, advanced materials, and micro(nano)plastics.

The facility is also equipped with a chemistry laboratory and facilities for the sample preparation necessary to carry out the experiments. The provided service also includes scientific and technical support, thanks to a multidisciplinary team of scientists, including chemists, physicists, biologists, and materials scientists with extensive experience in the fields of physico-chemical characterisation of materials and nanobiosciences. 

In particular, the JRC labs can be used for the following purposes:

Techniques enabling orthogonal characterisation of nanomaterials include:

  • Asymmetrical field flow field fractionation
  • Analytical Ultracentrifugation
  • Volume specific surface area
  • DCS – Disk Centrifuge Sedimentation
  • DLS – Dynamic Light Scattering
  • ICP-MS – Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
  • MALS – Multi Angle Light Scattering Detector

  • Micro-FTIR – Fourier Trasform InfraRed Spectrometer coupled with a microscope
  • TXRF – Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence
  • XRD – X-Ray Diffraction
  • TOF-SIMS Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
  • XPS – X-Ray Photoemission Spectroscopy

  • Dual Beam – FIB-SEM focused ion beam and scanning electron microscope
  • TEM – Transmission Electron Microscopy
  • Microspotter – Non Contact Printing

  • AUC – Analytical UltraCentrifugation
  • CD – Circular Dichroism
  • QCM-D – Quartz Crystal Microbalance
  • SPR – Surface Plasmon Resonance

  • Cell culture facilities and in vitro cytotoxicity assays
  • Fluorescence microscopy and confocal fluorescence microscope
  • Microarray scanner
  • Multiplex Elisa
  • Real-time polymerase chain reaction

 

The facility for the sample preparation necessary for performing analysis with the previously described techniques, includes:

  • Chemistry laboratory with spin coatings, sample digestion apparatus, etc.
  • Sample preparation facilities for samples preparation for Electron microscopy
FIELDS OF APPLICATION:
  • Nanomaterial synthesis and characterisation
  • Surface chemical analysis of nano- and macromaterials
  • Detection of nanomaterials and micro(nano)plastics in various environmental compartments and other complex matrices
  • Characterisation of interactions of nanomaterials/nanomedicines/nanoplastics with biological systems based on in vitro biocompatibility studies
  • Biocompatibility studies incl. cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity and, nanomaterial uptake studies using various human/animal cell lines, primary cells and stem cells
  • Biomolecular interaction studies, in-depth characterisation of antibodies and antigens, bio-interfaces characterisation
  • Advanced materials characterisation for applications beyond the biological-medical fields (energy, transport, etc.).