The ULMTeC Core Facility Viruses offers a broad spectrum of services in the context of replication-competent viruses and replication-incompetent viral vectors. Application examples are oncolysis, tracking of neuronal connections, investigation of therapeutic interventions, knock-out of genes, simulation of gene defects, expression modulation, protein interaction studies, cell line generation, vaccination etc.

Standardized production, purification and characterization of viruses/viral vectors requires expertise and an appropriately equipped and approved genetic engineering facility. We would like to provide academic research groups and, depending on the research question and capacity, also industry with easy access to high-quality viruses/vectors and work with them so that they can focus entirely on their research focus.

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The services offered include:^**

• Counselling (Which vector for what? Vector design, safety assessment, genetic engineering ...)
   

• Production, purification/concentration, titration of:

  Viral vectors for the modulation of gene expression	Adenoviral vectors (AdVs), lentiviral vectors (LVs), adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs)
  Vaccination platform	Adenoviral vectors (AdVs), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based vectors
  Wild-type and reporter viruses  (currently under construction)**	Measles virus (MeV), influenza virus (IAV), VSV, coronaviruses, adenoviruses (Ad)
  Oncolytic viruses (currently under construction)**	MeV and variants, VSV variants, conditionally replicating adenoviruses (crAds)
  Neuronal tracing (currently under construction)**	Rabies-based viral vectors

• "Off-the-shelf" products
   
• Storage of viruses/viral vectors in a ‘virus bank’
   
• Method training and courses
   
• Use of laboratory and equipment (S2)
   

• Contract research (at individual discretion and capacity)
  
  ** Details of the services can be found in our ,,User fees''. The note ‘currently under construction’ means that not all products/services are available here yet. If you are interested, please contact us directly.

Equipment that can be booked for use:
S2 cell culture laboratory(s) with

• Cell culture workbenches
• Incubators for the cultivation of adherent cells
• Shaker for the cultivation of suspension cells (50 mm orbit)
• Ultracentrifuge Optima XE-90 from Beckman Coulter with various rotors (SW32 Ti, SW41 Ti, 70 Ti, 70.1 Ti, Type 19)
   

Additional equipment:
These devices are only used by Core Facility staff or, if necessary, as part of a training course or research collaboration with the Core Facility Viruses:

• Cytoflex flow cytometer from Beckman
• Plate Reader Multiskan SkyHigh from ThermoFisher
• Sorvall LYNX 4000 centrifuge for bacteria/DNA amplification
• CFX Connext qPCR Cycler from BIO-RAD
• QIAcuity One 5plex from QIAGEN
• Äkta pure™ FPLC from Cytiva
• GloMax® luminometer from Promega
• MinION portable nanopore sequencing device from Oxford Nanopore Technologies + IT (use is still being established)