Biosafety Level 3 facility
Services
The LUMC has 2 BSL3 facilities and one stand-alone BSL3 laboratory. One facility consists of two separately operated laboratories for viral and bacterial research, and can be used for BSL-3 organisms as well as GMO of containment level ML-III. The other consists of three separately operated facilities: two for viral work and one for diagnostics. Laboratory work can also be extended to animals from the ABSL-3 facility of the Animal Research Facility of the LUMC.
…The LUMC has 2 BSL3 facilities and one stand-alone BSL3 laboratory. One facility consists of two separately operated laboratories for viral and bacterial research, and can be used for BSL-3 organisms as well as GMO of containment level ML-III. The other consists of three separately operated facilities: two for viral work and one for diagnostics. Laboratory work can also be extended to animals from the ABSL-3 facility of the Animal Research Facility of the LUMC.
Using the facility is only possible by establishing a collaboration with the present research groups. At present, no hands-on training is offered for individuals outside of the LUMC and who have not established a collaboration with current researchers or projects.
The BSL-3 Facilities offer training possibilities for Biosafety Officers upon request. A Biosafety officer can be contacted for training that focuses on how to design, construct and manage a BSL-3 facility from a biosafety and biosecurity perspective. Contact a LUMC Biosafety Officer for more information.
Contact the Biosafety Officers for more information:
Equipment
The LUMC BSL-3 Facility has all the equipment necessary for viral and bacterial research. All laboratories are equipped with class IIB biological safety cabinets and all the basic materials needed for viral and/or bacterial research. This includes (shaking) incubators, several microscopes, large centrifuges (including an Ultra centrifuge), conditioned storage (including LN2) and small laboratory equipment. Additional instrumentation consists of a Fluorescent activated cell sorter for the bacterial work and for detecting luciferase activity.
About us
The LUMC has a long history working with viruses and bacteria classified as Risk Group 3 (RG3). In 2005, a state-of-the-art BSL-3 facility was opened to support this work. The BSL-3 facility is now used by the departments of Microbiology (section Virology) and the Department of Infectious Diseases. In 2022, a new facility will be opened for the Department of Microbiology (Virology section) and the clinical microbiology.
Facilities are regularly upgraded to comply with the stringent rules of Biosafety and Biosecurity over the years. This means the facilities are not available for research groups outside of the LUMC that are not collaborating with present users or internal research projects.
Contact
For more information, please contact the Biosafety Officers of the LUMC via email:
bvf@lumc.nl