UIC Research Resources Center

“The Nanotechnology Core Facility (NCF) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is a versatile MEMS/Nano facility and is accessible to non-profit and industrial researchers.

“The NCF enables research by providing access, training, service and process guidance on fabrication and characterization equipment. As a research and development laboratory, NCF is dedicated to application of integrated circuit and fiber optic technology to improve manufacturing methods for MEMS/Nano devices, BioMEMS, Microfluidic, Electromechanical, Mechanical, Chemical, Optical, Photonic and multi-functional devices, some of which have previously been built by more traditional techniques.”

— Excerpt from Nanotechnology Core Facility (NCF)

The RRC is working with High Throughput Genomics to provide gene expression analysis for investigators who wish to examine a moderate number of genes in hundreds of samples. UIC users can have samples analyzed directly by the company. If there is sufficient demand, the RRC will purchase an instrument to do in-house analysis.

The qNPA_ ArrayPlate System offers researchers a novel and simple method to accurately and precisely measure multiplexed gene expression levels of up to 47 genes in a single well. The lysis-only sample preparation protocol can be performed on virtually any sample type, including cell lines, primary cells, whole tissues, and archived FFPE specimens. The qNPA platform features: no RNA extraction, no cDNA synthesis, no RNA amplification or labeling, one-well 47 gene multiplexing, whole assay CVs (biological replicates) of ~ 10%, differential expression resolution of ~20% or 1.2-fold

The qNPA ArrayPlate Assay is ideal for use with cell lines, formalin fixed tissue (FFPE) or other samples where RNA integrity is poor. The qNPA approach improves upon other gene expression platforms because it does not require the removal of the paraffin from these samples, and works well on samples where the RNA is cross-linked to non-soluble material.