They learned about the scientific principles of biotechnology and ISU's public education program. The MicroArray Facility and the Proteomics Facility have brought the number of instrumentation facilities for biotechnology research to 15. The MicroArray Facility located in Agronomy Hall provides access to equipment for the production and analysis of MicroArray chips that can be used for the study of global patterns of gene expression. Users must provide their own gene targets for the chips and prepare their own chips. Instead, because MicroArray technology is an emerging field, users are essentially active participants in a collaborative research effort.
Users pool their resources and experience.
After training, the users operate the mass spectrometer themselves. The mass spectrometer is intended for high throughput peptide mass fingerprinting to identify proteins. In addition, the mass spectrometer will also be used for development of novel methods for a proteomics project. Because proteomics is an emerging technology, users of the Proteomics Facility are essentially active participants in a collaborative research effort. Users of the facility pool their resources and experience.