Tri-City University Animal House – Research Service Centre is currently one of the most modern facilities of this type in Poland. The unit allows for conducting world-class animal research in accordance with all requirements of Polish and European law. The facility provides a wide range of services by a team of experienced and highly qualified specialists: veterinarians, biologists, zootechnicians and animal technicians. In procedures involving the use of laboratory animals participate employees who have individual permits to perform experiments on animals.
Tri-City University Animal House occupies 1,100 m² of space, divided into a breeding area, an experimental area, and automated preparation and storage facilities with a sterilization room. These rooms are used for breeding mice and rats, keeping them, as well as performing treatments and experimental procedures on them. There is also a separate room for a conventional animal house for short-term keeping of animals.
In the modern facilities of the laboratory, innovative research is conducted and many scientific-research projects are implemented, among which the most notable are toxicity and metabolism studies, studies of new drugs, including cancer and anti-diabetic drugs (biological and synthetic molecules), immunological studies, potential vaccines, evaluation of effectiveness of materials and implants used in surgery, nutritional studies, including antioxidants.
The facility, as a reputable service centre, has a long lasting cooperation with many pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies, such as: Selvita – Ryvu Therapeutics, Adamed Pharma or Celon Pharma, supported by numerous recommendations. The Animal Lab offers comprehensive and professional assistance in in vivo research, starting from planning the experiment, assistance in choosing experimental animal models, drafting applications to the Local Ethical Committee for Animal Experiments, importing animals from renowned external centres, performing experimental procedures, up to collecting and processing material for further ex vivo research. The full range of services offered by the Tri-City University Animal House can be found on the unit’s website.
The laboratory is equipped with:
- a system that monitors the environmental conditions of animal facilities, such as temperature, humidity and pressure,
- a system of 3-part locks for personnel, constituting a barrier,
- air conditioning system with absolute HEPA filters,
- appropriate lighting installation, water filtration system,
- pass-through autoclaves,
- disinfection chamber with hydrogen peroxide vaporizer,
- modern washers for cages and bottles for animals.
As part of its activities, the Tri-City University Animal House provides isolated rooms – animal rooms with access for 24 hours a day and the use of modern and specialized research equipment and apparatus, i.e. apparatus for anesthesia for small rodents, surgical microscopes, individually ventilated IVC cages, metabolic cages (for daily collection of urine and feces from animals), apparatus for morphology, biochemistry and blood gasometry, a chamber for sterilization with hydrogen peroxide and a wide range of laboratory facilities.
The Animal House runs its own, unique, long-term breeding of inbred mice BALB/c, C57BL/6, DBA/2 and an outbred herd of Wistar Han rats. All inbred animals were imported from renowned centres such as: Jackson Laboratory in USA or Charles River in Germany. The laboratory is fully monitored in terms of environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, pressure, lighting), which allows breeding and maintenance of animals with a high microbiological standard SPF and free from zoonosis (confirmed by regular monitoring of animal health) and conducting research using animals with immunological deficiencies (so-called naked mice) and various genetic modifications (so-called humanized mice). Monitoring of rooms allows detection of any irregularity of parameters and quick elimination. The unit’s staff makes a special effort to treat the animals according to the 3Rs principle, starting from the moment of birth, through taking care of the animals during the research, up to the moment of humane death or providing them with new homes after the procedures.
All animals have unlimited access to fresh water and feed. Animal caretakers pass through a three-part sluice where they wash and change into special, sterilized protective clothing. Only those prepared this way may enter the animal rooms behind the barrier. Every day (including weekends and holidays) all breeding rooms are inspected. The animals remain under the constant supervision of technicians and breeders, ensuring that they receive the best possible care.
With such a wide range of activities, qualified staff, apparatus facilities the Tri-City University Animal House is a reference centre for animal research in Poland and Europe, providing a modern workshop for interdisciplinary research using a variety of animal research models.
Contact
Director
Grażyna Peszyńska-Sularz, V.M.D.
Tri-City University Animal House
Research Service Centre
Medical University of Gdańsk
Dębinki 1 Street
80-211 Gdańsk
Phone: 58 349 16 61
e-mail: tazd@gumed.edu.pl