What are core facilities – and why are they so valuable?
“Core facilities” are service and technology platforms within a university. They pool particularly sophisticated, expensive, or specialized equipment and procedures that are essential for many research projects – for example, high-performance microscopes, modern instruments for automated experiments, or specialized rooms for plant research.
The advantage: researchers do not have to purchase this equipment themselves or wait until usage slots become available at oversubscribed shared facilities elsewhere. At the same time, a team of experts is on hand to maintain the instruments, provide training, and support the planning of experiments. This allows scientists – regardless of their discipline or the equipment available in their own labs – to access state-of-the-art technology and put their ideas into practice faster and at the highest level.
High-tech for cell analysis and cell sorting
An outstanding example is the Core Facility “Flow Cytometry.” A flow cytometer is a device used to examine cells individually “on the fly,” by passing them in a liquid stream through a very thin measuring beam (usually laser light). Each cell scatters the light in its own way or emits fluorescence if it has been previously marked with special dyes. In this way, the device can measure the size, shape, and certain properties of each individual cell – and do so for thousands of cells in quick succession. The system enables precise single-cell analyses, spectral measurements, and imaging. One can imagine it as a high-tech assembly line inspection for cells: each cell is scanned, classified, and – if necessary – even automatically sorted at lightning speed. The highly purified cell material obtained in this way can then be further processed, for example to better understand disease patterns caused by cells with special characteristics. Researchers in the life sciences thus benefit from an infrastructure that meets the highest international standards.
Harnessing nanobodies for high-precision research
The “Nanobodies” core facility is likewise unique in its own way. It produces bespoke, highly specific antibodies that can be put to a wide variety of uses in research and development, from basic research through to diagnostics. The stability and versatility of these molecules make them a powerful tool in modern biomedicine. The team helps researchers not only to manufacture these versatile “little helpers” but also to tweak the functions that they are to perform.
Climate chambers for plant research
The “Climate Chambers” core facility provides the best possible conditions for the agricultural and environmental sciences. Twelve state-of-the-art climate chambers are on hand to enable temperature, light, humidity and other environmental parameters to be adjusted precisely, where necessary in compliance with high safety standards as well. This allows plant experiments to be conducted under strictly controlled and reproducible conditions, something that is essential for producing sound research findings.
More than just equipment—a whole network for innovation
All the University of Bonn’s core facilities boast a high degree of service focus, with teams of experts providing advice on planning experiments, supporting their execution and offering training. Researchers engage in academic dialogue about the best methodology for obtaining new insights, while a central booking system gives them a straightforward way to access all the services.
By pooling expertise in the new central office for the core facilities led by Dr. Elmar Endl, the University of Bonn is making it crystal-clear that excellence in research needs first-class conditions in which to flourish, something that the University guarantees for its researchers.
Three questions for Elmar Endl, head of Core Facilities:
How many users do you ...