Sample forms and guidelines
- Download sample submission form and guidelines here.
- Download mailing label for sample shipment here.
- Fill out project intake form for bioinformatics analysis service here.
General Services
- Consultation and study design
-
- Consultation service for the design and implementation of human and animal gut microbiome studies – assistance with budgeting, ethics and grant applications
- Sample preparation and quality control tests
- Optimal sample collection – fecal collection kits
- Storage of clinical specimens prior to study
-
- Fecal sample, mucosal wash, swab, and biopsy storage (-80 °C)
- Maintenance of sample inventory
- Sample processing/aliquoting of liquids, body fluids and fecal specimens
- Microbial cultivation and freezing of bacterial isolates
- Post-study long-term storage of samples after study conclusion, please inquire
- Nucleic acid isolation and quantification
-
- High-throughput genomic DNA extraction with MagMAX™ Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit (Thermo cat# A42358) on the Kingfisher DUO Prime. Self-serve available.
- Quantification of nucleic acids with Qubit™, Quant-iT™ PicoGreen™ dsDNA Assay Kit and Nanodrop
- Robotic sample normalization and hit picking
-
- DNA concentration normalization on a 96-well plate format can be easily achieved with accuracy. This includes hit picking samples in plate formats.
- Next generation sequencing
-
- 16S rRNA library prep and sequencing
- Shotgun metagenomic sequencing
- ITS library prep and sequencing
- Community pooling for smaller quantity submissions available, please inquire
- Anaerobic culturing
-
- Bacterial culturing under strict anaerobic conditions within the A35 Don Whitley Anaerobic chamber. Self-serve available.
- Metabolomics
-
- Short-chain fatty acids, amino acids, metabolites and bile acids measurements
- Targeted microbiome enumeration
-
- Quantifying microbial DNA sequences using droplet digital PCR instruments
- In vitro and in vivo assays related to microbiome investigation
-
- Data analysis and bioinformatics
-
- Standardized basic 16S rRNA sequencing analysis
- Advanced bioinformatics analyses available by request
- Mycoplasma testing
-
- PCR-based testing of the presence of mycoplasma contamination from cell culture supernatant
- Organ-on-a-chip experiments using the Emulate System
-
- Colon Intestine-Chip technology as a pre-clinical model to test several dynamic conditions and experimental stimuli
Self-serve Instruments
All self-serve instruments require prior training. Please contact gut4health@bcchr.ca for more details about training schedules.
After necessary training completion: BCCHR users please book reserve time on Calpendo. Non-BCCHR users request time slots by contacting gut4health@bcchr.ca.
- A35 Don Whitley anaerobic chamber
-
The anaerobic chamber allows for sample handling within strict anaerobic conditions held at 37°C. Media reduction and bacteria culturing can be completed within this chamber. - Bio-Rad QX200 automated droplet digital PCR
-
Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is a highly sensitive PCR method utilizing properties of water-in-oil emulsion of samples to encapsulate single template nucleic acids into individual droplets. This technique would result in absolute quantification of targeted nucleic acid sequences, without relying on a standard curve as with qPCR. Applications include gene expression and detection of rare mutation events. Project-specific training on ddPCR is available upon request and will be held on-site. Please contact gut4health@bcchr.ca for more details of the upcoming training sessions. Training session includes applicational use of the instrument presented by a Bio-Rad representative. For more information about ddPCR and its applications, visit Bio-Rad.
- VirTis Advantage Lyophilizer
-
Programmable lyophilizer with temperatures from -70°C to 60°C. Capacity: 420 2mL, 168 5mL, 138 10mL, 87 20mL, 47 50mL, 32 100mL vials. Contact and consult with Gut4Health for custom programs and vial sizes. - Kingfisher DUO Prime
-
Kingfisher DUO Prime assists in DNA/RNA extraction magnetic bead-based strategies, shortening hands-on processing time. DNA extractions with the MagMAX™ Microbiome Ultra Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit (Thermo cat# A42358) is used for microbiome DNA extractions in Gut4Health. Other extraction kits that also incorporate magnetic bead-based methods may be used with this instrument. Please contact Shaunda Brouns or Holly Hilborn at ThermoFisher Scientific for additional information.
Service requests and fees
Contact us for service requests and click on the button below for fee information.