FACILITIES

The skills and advanced instrumentation of IGM-CNR are made available to external parties through the existing technological platforms:

Bioinformatics analysis platform
Image analysis platform
Platform for the localization and analysis of subcellular structures
Platform for the characterization of the biological activity of small molecules (Drug discovery)
Platform for the preparation of cell cultures from tissue samples.

In addition, IGM-CNR coordinates the Italian Network on Laminopathies.

The molecular study of biological phenomena requires, today as never before, the ability to observe biological samples in great detail. For this reason, the Institute of Molecular Genetics has developed a comprehensive suite of instruments for the imaging and analysis of biological samples. The mission of the Institute’s imaging facility is to provide the tools and expertise needed to analyze the phenomena being studied by our researchers. The Institute is equipped with a microscopy core, which comprises brightfield and fluorescence microscopes and expands up to high sensitivity confocal microscopy. In parallel, three cytometers are available for multiparametric analysis of samples with the possibility of cell sorting. We provide training and education in the fields of microscopy and cytometry and we can assist in the design of experiments, data acquisition and image analysis. The facility is also available for collaborations and allows access to external partners.

Imaging at IGM Pavia

Imaging at IGM Bologna

Staff: Silvia Bione, Antonella Lisa, Roberta Alfieri

CABGen is involved in bioinformatics applied to life sciences (medicine, biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, genetics) and it is specialized in providing services from the design to the research running of bioinformatics analysis. The bioinformatics center can be contacted at any stage of the project offering one, some or all the services necessary to perform the research.

The services offered include:

  • analysis of expression data from microarrays experiments;
  • analysis of Next Generation Sequencing data (RNAseq, ChIP Seq, DNAseq, exome sequencing);
  • development of tools for data collection and study-design;
  • design and construction of databases;
  • development of tools for querying databases;
  • independent revision of the bioinformatics part in scientific projects and papers;
  • accounting for the use of cluster computing facilities.

The prerogative of services offered is based on the continuous dialogue with the customer in order to optimize the outcome of the performed analysis. For this purpose the synergy with the customer is the key point of our approach to work. 

For information and custom quotes please contact: statconsul@igm.cnr.it

Staff: Giovanna Lattanzi, Stefano Squarzoni, Cristina Capanni, Elisabetta Mattioli, Vittoria Cenni


With this service we intend to offer our expertise to support research groups, clinicians and companies, who intend to study problems related to the operation of nuclear facilities. Some hereditary diseases have been associated with mutations in nuclear envelope proteins or related proteins. These diseases, which include Hutchinson-Gilford progeria, Emery-Dreyfuss muscular dystrophy, mandibuloacral dysplasia, Dunningan’s familial partial lipodystrophy and type 1A dilated cardiomyopathy, belong to the large group of laminopathies and fall within our core competencies. 

For information and quotes, contact Dr. Giovanna Lattanzi

Staff: William Blalock, Vittoria Cenni, Manuela Piazzi and Francesca Chiarini.


For information and quotes, contact Dr. Manuela Piazzi

Integrated technological platform

The integrated technological platform aims at providing support to both academic and private (with particular emphasis on Spin-off, Start-Up and SME) entities. The services to be offered are:

medium-high throughput anti-enzymatic screening against various viral and cellular targets; target validation; mechanism of action determination. We can evaluate also toxicity and antiproliferative activities in cell culture.

We also can offer support for the expression and purification of protein/enzymatic targets on demand. Our group has all the necessary expertise for novel target identification from in silico analysis to gene cloning, protein expression and biological testing.

Our strong point is the extreme flexibility in terms of providing services on-demand, as well the possibility to provide a full characterization of the biological properties of a certain biomolecule from a quantitative point of view, that are a necessary requirement for example in: preliminary risks-to-benefits assessements; patent filing; safety profile determination; planning of optimization in manufacturing processes; etc.

Staff: Anna Cleta Croce

The technique allows the detection of excitation/ emission spectra in the respective intervals of 200-800, 210-900nm from fluorescing substances in aqueous of ethanol solutions. In general, and depending on the properties of the substances to be analyzed, the amount required is less then a mg.

Price List

85 Euros for the excitation /emission of each sample. Spectra are then given as Excell files. The possibility to make measurements and changes for the use of other solvents, as well as organic substrates (i.e. from cells and tissues), and the use of quartz cuvettes will be considered separately, case by case. 

For information: croce@igm.cnr.it

Staff: Elisabetta Mattioli, Giovanna Lattanzi, Cristina Capanni, Vittoria Cenni

IGM-CNR has a laboratory for the preparation, expansion and stortage of cell cultures from human biopsy tissues. Cultured myoblasts, muscle and skin fibroblasts, pre-adipocytes can be produced. The cultures are tested for mycoplasma contamination. The storage of samples occurs in liquid nitrogen.

Staff: Alessandra Montecucco (responsabile del servizio di ricerca), Fiorenzo Peverali, Simone Sabbioneda

In recent years the application of imaging techniques associated with approaches of molecular biology has allowed the identification of various functional domains present in the nucleus of mammalian cells. Contrary to the bodies in the cytoplasm, the sub-sectors are not surrounded by a nuclear membrane and are characterized by a constant flow of proteins. Consequently nuclear bodies show a particularly dynamic behavior and undergo drastic rearrangements in response to signals extra- and intra-cellular. A growing number of proteins associated with these sub-nuclear compartments are involved in genetic diseases. Moreover, this segregation is functional to the spatial and temporal regulation of the biochemical processes that occur in the nucleus (replication, transcription and splicing). Our group has made a significant contribution to this type of analysis.

This service offers our expertise for the characterisation of nuclear proteins involved in genetic diseases.

Services offered:

  1. Analysis of immunolocalization of nuclear proteins for conventional and confocal microscopy.
  2. Immunolocalization of an antigen of interest in cells stained with antibodies against specific markers of sub-nuclear compartments (replication factories, transcription factories, speckles, Cajal bodies, heterochromatic domains, nuclear membrane, apoptotic bodies).
  3. We can assist users in selecting the best strategy to study the distribution of proteins in overexpression experiments (vectors and proteins fused to tags or fluorescent proteins).

For further information contact: montecucco@igm.cnr.it

Staff: Antonella Lisa, Ornella Fiorani, Ginevra Biino

Our laboratory  is involved in statistics applied to life sciences (medicine, biology, molecular biology, pharmacology and genetics) and is specialized in providing services regarding projecting, research running, statistical analysis and scientific communication. The statistical consultancy can be requested in any phase of the research project.

Services:

  • Research design
  • Development of instruments for data collection
  • Planning out of database for data filing
  • Development of tools for database mining and querying
  • Statistical analysis from designed experiments, surveys or observational studies
  • Reporting
  • Scientific communication arrangement
  • Independent reviews of reports with a statistical component
  • Accurate bibliographic and specialized database searching

Expertise:

  • Clinical Epidemiology (cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, clinical trials)
  • Environmental Epidemiology
  • Genetic Epidemiology (association studies, heritability analysis, linkage analysis)
  • Psychometry (development and validation of psychometric instruments)

For more information and cost estimates please contact statconsul@igm.cnr.it