Midwestern University Core Facility - Downers Grove

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The Midwestern University Core Facility houses state-of-the-art instrumentation that is available to any MWU faculty, staff, or student researcher. This shared equipment laboratory space is located in Science Hall on the Downers Grove campus.  It is actively funded by Midwestern University to support research, foster collaborative projects, drive scientific innovation and engage our community by hosting STEM educational programs. 

The Midwestern University Core Facility has a wide range of equipment, with strengths in histology, imaging, and molecular and analytical biology. Our histological processing instrumentation includes an automated tissue processor, embedding station, and microtome.  Users have access to  a high-speed, fully automated inverted fluorescence microscope, a laser scanning confocal microscope, and a scanning electron microscope.  Our comprehensive suite of flow cytometry instrumentation includes a sensitive, high-throughput analytical flow cytometer, a cell sorter and an imaging flow cytometer.  In addition, we have a liquid chromatography mass spectrometer, a hand-held 3D scanner, a high-throughput multimodal plate reader, a complete cell culture facility and more. See below for comprehensive lists of all the available instrumentation.

The Core Facility operates with faculty oversight and is supervised and operated by a full-time laboratory manager.  Midwestern University has demonstrated its strong dedication to research by continuously adding to the Core Facility to strategically complement our existing instrumentation and adapt to the changing needs of our research community.

Please Click Here  for detailed information about our instruments, policies and guidelines.

Available Instrumentation

Imaging Equipment

Nikon AXR Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope

Nikon SMZ25 Stereomicroscope

Nikon Eclipse Ti2-E Inverted Fluorescence Microscope

  • Tokai HIT Live Cell Incubation Chamber
  • Eppendorf Injectman and Femtojet Microinjection System
  • WPI SU-P1000 Next Generation Micropipette Puller

JEOL Scanning Electron Microscope

  • Leica EM CPD300 Critical Point Dryer
  • Leica EM ACE600 High Vacuum Coater

Molecular Devices ImageExpress Pico Imaging Plate Reader

Artec Space Spider 3D Scanner

    Cell Culture Facility

    Baker SterilGard III Advance Laminar Flow Hood

    DeNovix CellDrop FL Cell Counter

    BenchMark SureTherm 45 Incubator

    Nikon Eclipse Ts2 Inverted Light Microscope

      Molecular and Analytical Equipment

      Beckman Coulter CytoFLEX Flow Cytometer

      Amnis FlowSight Imaging Flow Cytometer

      Bio-Rad S3e Cell Sorter

      PerkinElmer EnSpire Plate Reader with TRF module

      Eppendorf 5920R Refrigerated Centrifuge

      Agilent 6420 Triple Quad LC/MS with 1260 Infinity Multisampler

      IDEXX Catalyst One Blood Chemistry Analyzer

      Agilent Seahorse XFe24 Cellular Metabolic Analyzer

      Bio-Rad C1000 Touch Thermal Cycler with CFX96 Real-Time System

      BioSpec Mini-Bead Beater 24

      Thermo Scientific Nano Drop OneC

      Parr 6725 Semimicro Calorimeter

      Mettler Toledo ME204T Analytical Balance

      Histology Equipment

      Sakura Tissue-Tek VIP 5 Tissue Processor 

      Sakura Tissue-Tek TEC Paraffin Embedding Station

      Thermo Scientific Microm HM325 Rotary Microtome

      ShurStain 12 Well Histology Staining Station

      Physiology / Animal Facility Equipment

      Bioseb Grip Strength Test

      Panlab Mouse Rotarod

      EVOS XL Core Microscope

      Computational Equipment

      Dell XPS Data Analysis Desktop Workstation Computer

      • i7 processor, 64GB Ram, 6GB Nvidia card
      • Available Software: Photoshop, Image J, Kaluza, FCS Express, CytExpert, Nikon Elements, Artec Studio

      Wacom Cintiq Pro 13" monitor with Wacom Pro Smart Pen

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