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School of Dentistry Research Core

Overview of Services

School of Dentistry Research Core

Our mission is to facilitate all faculty and student research projects at Texas A&M University School of Dentistry by providing guidance and service through our research core.

The research core at consists of a Histology Core, a Microscopy Core, and an Animal Resource Unit. We have several full-time technicians to staff this facility. Two are dedicated to animal maintenance and compliance. The Histology Core is housed in the main Texas A&M College of Dentistry building and the Micro-Computed Tomography (μCT), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Confocal microscope are housed in the Sciences Building.

Histology Core Facility

The Histology Core Facility provides oversight and technical support for The Histology Core Laboratory which is a 400 square foot facility equipped with regular laboratory hardware, including:

  • Leitz 1512 microtome
  • VIP Tissue Tek processing station
  • PELCO Biowave Microwave (2)
  • Tissue Tek TEC Paraffin embedding station
  • Slide warmer (3)
  • Histo-orientator
  • Water bath (2)
  • Knife sharpener (2)
  • Dual headed microscope (2)
  • Slide dryers (2)
  • Paraffin oven
  • Vibratomes (2)
  • Tricontinent Multiwash 3 plate washer
  • Equipment for bone histomorphology includes:
    • Buehler Isomet low speed saws (4)
    • Buehler grinding and polishing devices
    • Techcut low speed saws

 

Histology Service Fee

Microscopy Core Facility

The Microscopy Core Facility provides oversight and technical support for the Microscopy-Image Analysis Laboratory. A senior research faculty in the Department of Biomedical Sciences supervises this core. The core contains a Confocal and Microscopy Image Analysis System, a Scanning Electron Microscope, and Micro-Computed Tomography (μCT).

Confocal Microscope

Confocal Microscope System set up for live cell imaging: Leica SP5 (2010 model) confocal system with four lasers and five detectors used with an upright microscope: Laser lines 405, 458, 488, 514, 543, 561, 633.

 

Confocal Microscope Fee

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

The Scanning Electron Microscope area has a JEOL JSM-6010LA SEM and uses a field emission gun with cold cathode. The resolution is 1.5 nm in secondary electron imaging (SE) and 3.0 nm in backscattered electron imaging (BEI) at 30 kV. The airlock specimen chamber allows up to a 32 mm diameter sample. Without airlock, the sample can be up to 150 mm. It has a motorized X-Y stage, automatic SEM condition setup based on sample type, simultaneous multiple live image and movie capture, easy sample navigation at 5x - 300,000x magnifications, quantitative and qualitative elements analysis, low and high vacuum operation and wireless capacity.

Scanning Electron Microscopy Fee

The Micro-Computed Tomography area contains a ScanCo MicroCT 35 Scanner with two terminals. It has a Windows-based microcomputer for image analysis; the associated Windows-based software includes Mimics, Geomagic Studio, Strand 7 Finite Element software, Analyze, and Imaris; and a Windows-based microcomputer set-up to use with Bioquant Osteo.

Micro-Computed Tomography (μCT) Fees

Other Imaging Equipment

The Laser Capture Microdissection Microscope area contains a Leica CTR 6500 UV-laser based microdissection system purchased in 2013, which combines automated upright microscope architecture, three-dimensional optical control of the dissecting laser beam and the dissected area, non-contact tissue sampling, and motorized post-dissection handling.

The Slice Scanning Olympus VS 120-S5 area contains a compound light microscope with an epi-florescence capability that allows standard slides (five 1x3, or two 2x3) to be manually loaded and scanned.  All system components are designed to interact seamlessly, producing a fully automated, high-speed scanning system with excellent flexibility and simple operation. The microscope is equipped with Fluorescence components and can produce fully automated, high-speed, multi-channel fluorescence virtual slide system with flexibility and simple operation.

Nikon epifluorescent microscope equipped for digital monochrome and color image analysis, an X-Y-Z encoded motorized stage, Pentium computer and Elements software, as well as a second Nikon microscope with a Sony DXC-390 camera and Bioquant NOVA software for bone histomorphometry.

 

Zeiss Axioplan microscope with a color digital camera for digital capture.

 

Leica DMRXE microscope with color digital camera for digital capture.

General Shared Core Equipment

Research Equipment Policy of the TAMU School of Dentistry:
All General Shared Core research equipment at the School is considered shared and, with proper training, may be used by any researcher at the School of Dentistry.

The Core Equipment rooms are supervised by the faculty and are located in a central hallway on the fourth floor of the School of Dentistry within the Department of Biomedical Sciences. These rooms are equipped with the following:

  • Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer
  • BioRad CFX96 real-time PCR instruments (2)
  • Nucleovision image station
  • Beckman L-60 ultracentrifuge
  • Beckman J2-21 centrifuges (2)
  • Beckman GS-6R tabletop centrifuge
  • Eppendorph refrigerated microcentrifuge
  • Universal 320 centrifuge
  • Thermo Scientific Savant SPD1010 Speed-Vac concentrator
  • Millrock lyophilizer
  • New Brunswick shaking incubator
  • Packard Cobra auto-gamma counter
  • Packard 1900 TR liquid scintillation counter
  • Perkin Elmer 1450 Luminescence Counter
  • VWR UV 6300 PC Double Beam Spectro Photometer
  • LI - COR Odssey Infrared Imaging System
  • Molecular Devices 96 well plate reader
  • Cell culture facilities with a tissue dissection hood, laminar flow biosafety hood, and associated CO2 incubators and microscopes
  • 4ºC cold room
  • Microm HM 500 M cryostat
  • Complete darkroom with sinks and automated film developer
  • -80ºC freezers
  • Glassware dishwasher
  • UV Crosslinker
  • Tissue homogenizers and sonicator

 

Bioengineering-Sciences Building Facilities occupy approximately 2000 square feet of laboratory space. This includes laboratories containing equipment for:

  • Shimadzu DSC-50 Differential Scanning Calorimeter; Thermal Analysis
  • ATR-FTIR. The Nicolet iS10 ATR-FTIR system offers an unprecedented level of integration between the spectrometer, software, and the accessory with standard features like SPV, QCheck, and Advanced ATR correction.
  • Nanodrop 2000. The NanoDrop 2000 is a microvolume spectrophotometer for measuring DNA, RNA, and protein. Using the patented sample retention system the NanoDrop 2000 accurately measures samples as small as 0.5 μL, and reports samples concentration, purity ratios, and full spectral data.
  • Labconco Freezone 2.5 L Freeze Dry System
  • MTS load cycle tester for dental material mechanical characterization
  • Instron Models 1125 (20,000 lbs. maximum) universal test machine; Struers FM-7 digital microhardness tester (load range 50-1000 g).
  • 2 Buehler Isomet low-speed saws; Vector-Beta, Simplimet3, Ecomet3, and Vibromet2 polishing stations; JEOL smart coater gold, carbon, and nickel coating systems
  • Shimadzu TGA-50 Thermogravimetric Analyzer; Shimadzu TMA-50H Thermomechanical Analyzer
  • 3D printer: Robocast Assisted Deposition System EBD-2011-05 system is equipped with a multi-dimension stage controller for the generation of scaffolds for tissue engineering. The system consists of an extrusion-based delivery system that has a syringe pump controlling on the inlet and robotic assisted extrusion of scaffold parts on the outlet.
  • Vacuum and atmospheric pressure furnaces for applications in sintering or debinding of materials
  • THINKYTM Centrifugal mixer for de-aeration and mixing of liquid slurries used for 3D printing applications
  • Fluorometer: The QuantiFluorTM-P fluorometer is a lightweight, handheld instrument configured for many of the fluorescent probes commonly used in nucleic acid and protein quantitation.
  • Electrospinning system: This electrospinning system with the Spraydrum rotating drum collector (CAT000003) has a unique linear motion emitter, which could fabricate the electrospun membrane with uniform thickness and controlled orientation.

Getting Started

**For TAMU individuals: First-time users should click "Register" in upper right.  Returning users will click "Sign In"

**For Non-TAMU individuals: Before you register, you must be assigned an External PO Number.

 

Leadership

Dr. Larry Bellinger Associate Dean of Research    

Location and hours of operation

Hours Location

 Open M - F 
Staffed M - Th 9AM - 3PM  

 Dallas, TX 75246 

Links and Resources

  1. https://dentistry.tamhsc.edu/research/research-resources.html
  2. https://dentistry.tamhsc.edu/research/docs/histology-core-fees.pdf
  3. https://dentistry.tamhsc.edu/research/docs/confocal-fees.pdf
  4. https://dentistry.tamhsc.edu/research/docs/sem-fees.pdf
  5. https://dentistry.tamhsc.edu/research/docs/microct-fees.pdf
  6. Core Facilities – Division of Research (tamu.edu)

Contacts

Name Role Phone Email Location
Dr. Shannon Kramer
Core Coordinator
 
214-828-8344
 
sfkramer@tamu.edu
 
325
 
Richard Cardenas
Program Manager
 
214-828-8994
 
rcardenas@tamu.edu
 
324