Blood parameters
Blood chemistry
The Hitachi 902 robot is a laboratory diagnostic tool that allows routine determination of clinical chemical blood parameters, plasma enzymatic activities, specific substrates and electrolytes in blood samples of large numbers of mice. Assays can be performed individually, or as “profiles” for electrolytes, metabolic substrates, or “tissue profiles”. Given the obligatory “dead volume” required, the robot is best suited for multiple analyses on each sample.
Table 1. Analyses, volumes, sampling procedure and assay price (per sample).
Note : In addition to the total analysis volume (cumulated volumes for each analyte), please add a 70ul dead volume. The robot runs in two separate, non compatible modes (a or b) that must be run separately. For multiple assays involving both modes, please add an additional 20ul dead volume (90ul total dead volume).
Experimental Planning
Please contact us at least 15 days in advance to discuss the blood sampling procedure and our availability to perform the analyses.
Sample preparation should be performed as specified in Table 1
- Nature of the samples
Serum. Collect blood into tubes (with/out coagulation activators). Incubate at room temperature for 15 minutes (clotting). Centrifuge 10’, 4,500 rpm. Transfer supernatant into 1.5ml Eppendorf tubes. Store according to Table 1.
Plasma. Collect blood into tubes with anticoagulant (Li+-heparin, EDTA or Na+-fluoride) at room temperature. Centrifuge 10’, 4,500 rpm. Transfer supernatant into 1.5ml Eppendorf tubes. Store according to Table 1.
- Sample volume must include analyses plus the dead volume (refer to Table 1). Please contact us for any question.
- Sample labeling Tubes should be clearly labeled with easy codes (e.g. numbers #1-100) using permanent markers. Please include a list with detailed information about the nature and the number of samples.
Analysis request. Please specify the desired analyses as follows.
- Date
- Name
- Group
- Institute
- Number of samples
- Types of assays
- Recovery of samples after analyses (y/n)
- Nature of the project
Please briefly describe the mouse model (genetic modification, diet challenge, etc) and experimental conditions (time of bleeding, physiological state - fed/fasted, etc) in order to facilitate the interpretation of the results. A comment about the expected phenotype may be useful.
- Email address / Phone number
Contact
Technician : Marianne.Carrard@unil.ch (Tu/Wed/Fri) Phone: 021/692 4136 or 021/692 3957, laboratory 2022
Supervisor : Frederic.Preitner@unil.ch
Director : Bernard.Thorens@unil.ch
Hormones and cytokines
Hormone assays using the Bioplex from Luminex
The Bioplex allows the simultaneous analysis of numerous analytes in small sample volumes (30ul of plasma, cell culture supernatant). The Bioplex is an open system compatible with both commercial and proprietary reagents based on the fluorescent beads of Luminex (www.luminexcorp.com). The four main families of applications are nucleic acid assays, enzyme assays, receptor-ligand interactions and immunoassays. Commercial immunoassay applications include cell biology, hormones and metabolic markers in several species.
Service conditions
“On demand” multiplex assays. The MEF performs various assays on plasma or culture media using commercial immunoassay kits with “on demand” combinations of analytes to measure cytokines, hormones or metabolic markers in mice (see Table 2 hereafter).
Sample collection. It is absolutely necessary to systematically contact us for information concerning the sample nature and collection procedure, which will vary according to the analytes of interest.
Number of samples per assay. Each customized commercial kit is used in its entirety and must be paid in full. It allows assaying 76 samples or 38 samples in duplicate. Usually, assays can be performed in single if biological duplicates are available in sufficient number or during exploratory phases. Accurate measurements of small differences will require duplicate analyses (intra-assay CV = 3-15%, inter-assay CV = 2-20%, depending on assays).
Fee policy. The Bioplex is a reliable and widely-tried system. However, incompatible samples (hyperlipemic, hemolyzed or viscous) can occasionally lead to aberrant results. In order to keep prices low, the MEF does not include a “re-assay risk” for each analysis, but charges re-assays on a case-by-case basis. Kit prices indicated in Table 2 are settled for academic partners (UniL, CHUV, NCCR). External users will be charged a small additional fee per sample.
Table 2. Analyses panels and prices (per an incompressible number of 76 samples). Costs per cytokine and per sample are displayed to allow cost comparison with single assay ELISA kits.
Experimental Planning
Please contact us at least 15 days in advance to discuss the blood sampling procedure and our availability to perform the analyses.
- Sample preparation should be performed according to our guidelines.
- Nature of the samples Please contact us before collecting samples.
- Sample volume 30ul for single assays and 75ul for duplicate assays. For assays in conditioned cell culture supernatants, please provide 15ml of fresh culture media.
- Sample labeling. Tubes should be clearly labeled with easy codes (e.g. numbers #1-100) using permanent markers. Please include a list with detailed information about the nature and the number of samples.
Analysis request
Please specify the desired analyses as follows :
- Date
- Name
- Group
- Institute
- Number of samples
- Types of assays
- Nature of the project
 Please briefly describe the mouse model (genetic modification, diet challenge, etc) and experimental conditions (time of bleeding, physiological state - fed/fasted, etc) in order to facilitate the interpretation of the results. A comment about the expected phenotype may be useful.
- Email address / Phone number
Results
Results are delivered by email as Excel files or as prints with all useful information.
Contacts
Technician : Marianne.Carrard@unil.ch (Tue/Thu/Fri), 021/692.41.36 or 021/692.39.57, lab 2022
Supervisor : Frederic.Preitner@unil.ch
Director : Bernard.Thorens@unil.ch
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