CALI-capture the light.

The equipment applied for in this application is the Tecan SPARK®, a multimode microplate reader. The instrument reads microtiter plates up to 384 wells in various modes. Equipped with several monochromators, it measures optical density, several fluorescence modes and luminescence. It has an incubator-shaker ranging from 18° to 42°C. Unlike many other readers on the market, it is capable of measuring the quality and quantity of nucleic acids and proteins in volumes down to 2 microliters on 16 samples in parallel. It is a modular system which allows future extension with flash injectors, plate stacker, automatic lid removal etc… Prof. L. Bervoets (promotor), prof. G. De Boeck, and prof. H. Svardal (co-promotors) work in the SPHERE group on the effects of environmental stressors, both natural and anthropogenic, on the performance of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, in vivo and in vitro with an emphasis on mechanisms and ecological relevance. Prof. E. Prinsen (co-promotor) and the IMPRES group study plant stress and energy metabolism, acclimation mechanisms and the modelling of Leaf growth and tip growth and the role of plant hormones therein. All team members have an increasing need of in vitro assays to determine enzymatic activity and several other biomarkers such as hormones and cellular metabolites. The advanced possibilities of the SPARK® instrument offer several advantages, e.g. fluorescence modes, luminescence, scanning mode, etc., compared to the groups' current instruments (>10 years old). Notably, the cooling capacity of the incubator is unique on the market today. The facility for cooling is very important for the groups' research: SPHERE mainly focusses on the aquatic environment, and IMPRES on plants in a temperate climate, hence it is necessary to run assays at temperatures lower than typical room.

Keywords:LUMINESCENCE, FLUORESCENCE, BIOMARKERS

Disciplines:Ecotoxicology, Aquatic biology, Environmental impact and risk assessment, Environmental monitoring