The main goals of this platform are to procure improved living conditions for animals in a state-of-the-art facility, as well as give access to high-end equipment for researchers, in an effort to mutualize equipment, skills and knowledge within the institute. The platform is currently composed of a logistician (Solveig Mouterde) and two technicians (Rachid El Kaddouri and Mihaly Palmai-Pallag).
The Animal Facility Platform offers the following services:
- Housing of rodents used in experimentation according to the legal requirements
- Daily care of the animals (daily check-up, cage changes etc.)
- Follow-up of the welfare and sanitary status of the animals
- Access to laboratories situated in the same confinement zones as the animals
- Training as well as protective equipment for the users entering the facility
- Building, equipment and procedure-based barriers ensuring the preservation of the animals’ sanitary status
Advice and help regarding in-vivo experiment design and animal experimentation techniques The platform is serviced with the following equipment:
- Individually ventilated cages (IVC)
- Cage-changing stations with laminar air-flow
- Bedding disposal stations with laminar air-flow
- Cage-washers
- Autoclaves
- H2O2 disinfection rooms
- Air showers for the personnel and users’ entrance
- Air pressure differentials between rooms (sanitary barriers)
- Laboratories incl. chemical hoods
The laboratories are being progressively equipped through a joint effort from the research teams using the facility, and following a philosophy of mutualisation, in order to give access to the following services:
- Conventional area: surgery, laser Doppler, intravital imagery, tumor induction, ultrasonography, telemetry, metabolic cages
- Linné-like area: surgery, laser Doppler, intravital microscopy, tumor induction, viral infection (L2 biosafety lab), metabolic cages
- SPF-like area: surgery, cell therapy, tumor induction, inhalation cage