Our Services
PBD Laboratories’ dynamic drug development support will help accelerate your preclinical R&D objectives. We offer tailored services in quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), immunoassays, protein expression and purification, circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Our experienced team of scientists will provide cost-effective and innovative experimental designs tailored for your research project. A dedicated project manager will oversee the study design, protocol optimization, assay scaling (if needed), and reporting.
Conveniently located near the UC Davis Research campus, our laboratory is strategically designed to handle diverse sample types, including fluids and tissue samples from rodents, non-human primates, and humans. Schedule a free 1-hr. consultation meeting with our scientific team to discuss your experimental needs.
About PBD Laboratories
PCR Services
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used laboratory technique for amplifying specific DNA and RNA segments. We use fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays using our QuantStudio 5 thermocycler. We can adapt your protocol or help you design new assays for your gene of interest. We offer a quick turnaround, with data analysis and a final report delivered within 2-3 weeks.
qPCR Services for Relative or Absolute Quantitation
- Customized qPCR assays
- Gene expression
- Copy number variation (with a standard curve)
- SNP variant and allelic discrimination analysis
- Methylation analysis (CpG)
Flow Cytometry
Flow cytometry is a laser-based analytical technique that measures the physical and chemical characteristics of cells or particles suspended in a fluid stream, allowing for rapid analysis of multiple parameters of individual cells.
Detection and measurement in complex subpopulations
Our flow cytometry allows us to perform:
- Immunogenicity assessment
- Cell-based assays
- Receptor and target occupancy assays
- Intracellular and surface marker analysis
- In vitro toxicology, antibody screening
- Immunophenotyping and biomarker analysis
Immunoassay Services
An immunoassay detects and/or quantitates a specific analyte by leveraging its binding interactions as an antibody or antigen. The techniques or platforms used for immunoassays vary significantly depending on the analyte, therapeutic modality, and type of analytical endpoint. PBD Laboratories is an industry leader in immunoassay development and validation with extensive experience across a wide range of methodologies in support of nonclinical and clinical therapeutic programs.
- Cytokine release assay
- Complement-dependent cytotoxicity/antibody-dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity assays
- Complement activation assays
- Proliferation/activation assays
- ELISA Services
- Assay development
CD Services
Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra are highly sensitive to distortions within the chiral centers of biopolymers and help analyze the secondary structure of biopolymers, especially proteins/peptides and nucleic acids (Rogers et al., 2019). CD spectroscopy is the most common approach for studying the overall conformation of biopolymers, such as proteins and peptides. The CD is a spectroscopic method based on the interaction of chiral centers in the polymer with circularly polarized light, which is very sensitive to levels of regular order in the polymer backbone. CD offers a convenient method for identifying changes in the structure of proteins and peptides.
- Consultation on sample conditions and spectral acquisition parameters
- Sample preparation, including sample concentration and exchange into CD-compatible buffer.
- Recording the CD spectra with optimal parameters and temperatures (if temperature-dependent studies are needed).
- Collection and plotting of data
- computational analysis of protein secondary structure
- written report of results
CW-EPR Services
CW-EPR spectroscopy provides a highly sensitive and specific method for probing the local structure, dynamics, and environment of proteins (Garcia-Rubio, 2020) and lipid assemblies (Guzzi and Bartucci, 2015). The Site-Directed Spin Labeling Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (SDSL-EPR) spectroscopy offers a unique approach to elucidate the structure and dynamics of biomolecules in solution. The approach combines protein chemistry/molecular genetics to target spin probes into biomolecules (most commonly peptides and proteins) with EPR analysis using modifications that can accommodate small biological samples under a variety of conditions (pure protein, tissue, live cells, etc.).
- Consultation on sample conditions and spectral acquisition parameters
- Protein chemistry if spin-labeling is required.
- Labeling with lipid spin probes for nanoparticle samples composed of lipid assemblies (liposomes, NLP/nanodisc/emulsions)
- Sample preparation, including sample concentration.
- Recording of EPR spectra with optimal parameters and temperatures (if temperature-dependent studies are needed).
- For probe accessibility/environment measurements, power saturation measurements are collected in the presence of distinct relaxation agents.
- Collection and plotting of data
- computational analysis of line widths, amplitudes, and fitting of power saturation curves
- written report of results
The EPR instrument services are categorized under three different service types, depending on the mode of data collection.
- Simple room temperature (RT) scan.
- Simple low temperature (LT) scan. Service also includes flash freezing of samples.
- EPR power saturation scanning.