- Center for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture
- Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Proteomic Tools
- Elemental Analysis Tools
- Micropropagation Laboratory
- Microalgae Research Laboratory
- Nanobiotecnology Center
ISBiot
Center for Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture
The culture of plant cells under in vitro conditions or micropropagation is a proven technology to supply unlimited number of selected planting materials, reduce the risk due to natural disasters, ensure food security, generate employment, and improve the economy.
This Center represents a technological advance of great importance for the development of modern agriculture, emphasizing the needs of the community and the preservation of the environment.
This Centre introduces a series of precise and effective technologies accessible to farmers to generate their products on the farm. In vitro plants as a propagation alternative in agriculture provide plants free of pests, a product to be generated naturally in less time, which translates into higher profits. The community will benefit through the availability of fresh, healthier food produced locally. Other services available at the Center include chemical and microbiological analysis of soil and water, required in the decision-making of the agricultural business to guarantee product quality. Another added value for the community is that the Centre allows groups of people to be brought in to observe the operation carried out in the production of in vitro plants and other experiments. Thus, it also represents a tool for educating the community.
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Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Proteomic Tools
These specialized facilities are designed for the study, analysis, and manipulation of genomes and genes, within an organism. Genomic analysis conducts a wide range of activities, including DNA sequencing, genetic analysis, gene expression studies, and bioinformatics. Technologies include nucleic acids isolation and purification, amplification, transcriptional analysis computational infrastructure for bioinformatics analysis, data processing, and statistical analysis of genomic data.
Proteomic tools are also available for understanding protein structure and function. Protein extraction and purification instruments include homogenizers, centrifuges, ultracentrifuges, liquid and gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, regular protein electrophoresis, two-dimensional electrophoresis, Western blotting, ELISA, and UV/VIS/IR spectrophotometry, lyophilization, and others.
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Elemental Analysis Tools
The elemental analysis laboratory is a facility dedicated to the systematic study and determination of the elemental composition of environmental and agricultural samples. This includes determination of toxic elements and soil analysis for farmers. Precise measurement and analysis of elements are made by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, combustion analyzer, and microwave digestion.
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Micropropagation Laboratory
Tissue culture facilities are available, both for animal and plant cells. Basic equipment includes biosafety cabinets with laminar flow, incubators with precise temperature control and CO2 monitoring, low and ultralow freezer for cryopreservation, regular and fluorescent microscopes, and plant tissue incubators with control for CO2, humidity and light intensity.
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Nanobiotecnology Center
The Nanobiotechnology Center is a facility where scientific instrumentation is available for the analysis of cells, molecules and other materials at the level of millionths of a millimeter. The instrumentation includes three electron microscopes to analyze and observe in detail the molecular and cellular composition of living matter.
This includes: 1) A scanning electron microscope to create detailed images of the surface of cells and other materials, which includes an X-ray system that makes possible the elemental chemical composition of the objects observed.
2) An atomic force electron microscope, which is a powerful tool for imaging at the atomic level and to measure mechanical properties in tissue and other living materials
3) A confocal electron microscope that provides high-resolution imaging of samples, allowing for the precise examination of the surface and near-surface structures of a specimen. The Nanotechnology Center also has a flow cytometer to characterize and separate cells for medical and agricultural purposes.