Equipment and facilities available in the institute
Equipment and Facilities in the Microbiological/Mykological Area
Equipment and facilities available in this area include a microarray-reader and –spotter, quantitative PCR machines, various (gradient) PCR machines, droplet digital PCR, diverse microscopes, MALDI Biotyper System for the identification of bacteria and filamentous fungi, gel documentation systems, gel electrophoresis equipment, Southern- and Western blotters, IEF focusing unit in combination with 2D SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis, DGGE and PFGE equipment, high throughput sequencer (MiSeq), biosafety cabinets and anaerobic work benches, Hungate system for cultivation of with strictly anaerobic bacteria, various incubators, autoclaves, bench and floor centrifuges, high performance thin layer chromatography, laboratories conform to German biosafety level 1 and 2 classification.
Equipment in the Area of Chemical and Instrumental Analysis
Equipment in the LC laboratory includes two QTrap LC-MS/MS systems (AB Sciex QTrap 3200 and 5500), as well as a QTOF LC-MS/MS system (AB SCiex TripleTOF 5600) coupled to an HPLC or UHPLC-system, respectively. Other equipment available consists of four additional HPLC systems with various detectors (DAD, UV, fluorescence) amongst which one is a two-dimensional system and one is an UHPLC. One preparative HPLC is available for isolation and purification purposes. The GC laboratory has to its disposal two GCxGC-MS systems (Shimadzu QP2010 Ultra with a Zoex ZX2 modulator) which are used for metabolome analyses, as well as two further GC-MS systems and one GC-FID. A 96-well plate laboratory robot (Hamilton Microlab STAR) is available for automated sample preparation. In addition, equipment for classical food analysis is also available (Kjehldahl device, Soxhlet extractor, incineration furnace, Büchi mixers, etc.)
Equipment and Facilities in the Postharvest and Quality Area
Facilities available in the postharvest and quality area of the department includes two phytotrons for cultivation of plant material at defined temperature, air moisture and lighting conditions, as well as a greenhouse in which plants can be cultivated either in soil or in pots. In addition, cold storage rooms which are temperature and moisture controlled are also available for storage experiments, as well as ca. 90 containers with controllable atmosphere. A laboratory with 9 test cabinets is used for sensory analyses. Available equipment includes a semi-continuous, pilot-scale hot water treatment plant with a total water volume of ca. 1000 L for hot water treatment, a modular-design NIR system.