FIMM-High Throughput Biomedicine Unit
FIMM High Throughput Biomedicine Unit (HTB) provides high-throughput screening approaches of many types: genome-wide or targeted siRNA screening, cell-based and biochemical screens using targeted or large chemically diverse libraries, molecular probe discovery, biological profiling using libraries of known bioactives, drug repositioning, and personalized medicine screening (drug resistance and sensitivity, DSRT) using approved and investigational drugs.
Assays are performed in multi-well plates (96-, 384- or 1536-well formats) or high density array formats. The Unit manages two screening laboratories; one self-service facility that contains the equipment to perform small chemical and genetic screens on a semi automated basis and one fully automated state-of-the-art HTS laboratory with two robotic systems, a high throughput ScanR screening microscope and a microarray printer. The HTB also belongs to the Helsinki Functional Imaging Center, which provides expertise and access to a variety of imaging equipments for HT and HC imaging (http://www.hfic.helsinki.fi/ ).
The HTB provides expertise in assay miniaturization, robotics, automation, liquid handling systems, and imaging. Access to the instrumentation is also available to investigators for non-screening purposes.
Assays are performed in multi-well plates (96-, 384- or 1536-well formats) or high density array formats. The Unit manages two screening laboratories; one self-service facility that contains the equipment to perform small chemical and genetic screens on a semi automated basis and one fully automated state-of-the-art HTS laboratory with two robotic systems, a high throughput ScanR screening microscope and a microarray printer. The HTB also belongs to the Helsinki Functional Imaging Center, which provides expertise and access to a variety of imaging equipments for HT and HC imaging (http://www.hfic.helsinki.fi/ ).
The HTB provides expertise in assay miniaturization, robotics, automation, liquid handling systems, and imaging. Access to the instrumentation is also available to investigators for non-screening purposes.
Special strength
Our individualized systems medicine study is as part of a "grand challenge" programme at FIMM to improve cancer therapy. Using adult Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) as a model disease, we aim to: (1) identify effective targeted drugs for AML patients by ex-vivo DSRT as well as genomic and molecular profiling, (2) understand how the molecular and functional features change during drug response and resistance based on paired samples, (3) create individual systems medicine models of AML driver signals and drug response/resistance, (4) translate these data towards individualized cancer treatment. The personalised medicine collaboration involves Kallioniemi, Wennerberg, Heckman/Knowles, Aittokallio and Lundin groups at FIMM and clinical collaborators at the HUS (The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa).
Resources and Equipment
1. Robotics:
- BeckmanCoulter intergrated robotic system including e.g. Motoman robotic arm, Biomek FXp pipetting robot, and Cytomat 24 MPH -cell incubator. This system is used for running fully automated screens with cell or biochemistry based assays and for splitting libraries on Labcyte ECHO compatible source plates.
- Labcyte Access robotic system including e.g. Labcyte robotic arm, Labcyte Echo 550 Omics2 (2.5 nl droplet), Echo 525 (25 nl droplet), Labcyte LX bulk filler (4 source liquids). This system is used for creating assay plates with chemicals and/or siRNAs and for miniaturized cell-based and biochemical screening.
- BMG Pherastar FS plate reader
- Paradigm plate reader (integrated in the BeckmanCoulter system)
- Olympus ScanR high content screening microscope and analysis software
- Incucyte FLR, Incucyte HD (live cell imaging)
- TTP Labtech Acumen eX3 –high content imager
- PerkinElmer Topcount –plate reader
- Aushon Biosystems 2470 Arrayer
- Ambion Silencer® Select Human siRNA Library V4
- Compound collection: The unit maintains a chemical collection of about 140 000 compounds that are ready to use for screening. The chemical collections can be divided into two major classes: drugs & known bioactives and chemical diversity libraries. The drugs and known bioactives are ideal for biological profiling, drug repositioning, and personalized medicine-type screens while the larger chemical diversity collections are best suited for molecular probe discovery screening.
Services
- Assay guidance and optimization
- Chemical screening
- siRNA screening
- miRNA screening
- Chemical+RNAi screening
- Drug sensitivity and resistance testing
- Cell-based assays
- Biochemical assays
- Array printing
- Lysate microarrays
- Serum microarrays
- Miniaturized assays
- Preparation of assay-ready chemical or siRNA plates
- Test aliquots of best-in-class chemicals
- Providing assay plates and reagents
- High content imaging and image analysis
- Virtual screening (available via collaborators)