The University of Florida NGVL Toxicology Center was established within the Powell Gene Therapy Center at UF to serve as a resource for the performance of toxicology and biodistribution studies with gene therapy vectors . The Center will perform studies in compliance with Good Laboratory Practices using rodents, rabbits, canines, and non-human primates, as available. Assays available on-site include standard histopathology, clinical che mistry and hematology, vector immunology, and data management.

A particular focus of this center is the performance of vector biodistribution studies. To facilitate these studies, we have established a facility for robotic DNA extraction and real-time PCR. These specialized techn iques, combined with a PCR-clean necropsy procedure, are designed to minimize any potential contamination of an imal tissues with vector DNA sequences.

For more information: http://www.gtc.ufl.edu