Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is strategically located in the Capital Region's medical corridor. Our diversity of facilities and equipment enables our students and faculty, in a variety of disciplines, to research what will be the future in pharmaceutical and medical advancements.
Biosciences Research Building
Most of the ACPHS research laboratories are located in the Biosciences Research Building (BRB), which also houses an animal research facility. The animal facility is licensed by the New York State Department of Health, Laboratory Animal Welfare Program.
Standard equipment such as refrigerated centrifuges, refrigerators, bacteriological and CO2 incubators, -80°C and -20°C freezers, liquid nitrogen storage, power supplies, balances, pH meter, water baths, shaking incubator, hot air ovens, fume hoods, autoclaves ultrapure water purification systems, absorbance and fluorescence plate readers, water baths, shakers, balances and in-house air and water are available throughout the laboratories.
Molecular and microbiological laboratory resources supporting research in cell signaling, infectious disease, DNA, RNA and protein function the BRB include: Class II A2 biosafety cabinets, tissue culture hoods and bacteriological and CO2 incubators, inverted tissue culture microscopes, Quantitative Real-time and traditional PCR machines, gel imaging systems, Western Blot apparatus, an Olympus IX71 Fluorescence Microscope for live cell imaging, a Microm HM 505E cryostat, facilities for Drosophila research including dissection microscopes and fly husbandry, and a Sorvall 6000 super speed centrifuge.
Physiology study resources available in the BRB include: rat-specific Kopf stereotaxic instruments and microinjection equipment for brain studies, an isolated-perfused lung system with a Bio-Pac digital data acquisition module, and a BioPac Hemodynamic systemic monitoring systems for blood pressure studies.
The Organic and Medicinal Chemistry laboratory resources support topical and transdermal drug delivery research as well as chemical synthesis and analysis. The main chemistry lab is equipped with two large fume hoods and adequate bench space to accommodate 5 or 6 researchers working simultaneously. Sample preparation equipment includes a Centrivap concentrator with -84°C cold trap and a high-vacuum pump, shakers, and incubators. There is a dedicated ventilated hood for photochemical reactions equipped to eliminate escape of UV radiation and is protected from incident light. Glassware, stirrers, heating apparatus and other appropriate equipment for chemical synthesis are available. There are multiple chemical and solvent storage units. There is a 6-cell Franz diffusion cell unit equipped with Nicolet FT-IR spectrophotometer and a Shimadzu HPLC system.
The BRB analytical facility houses a Waters ACQUITY-TQD UPLC-MS/MS system, Waters 600 HPLC system, Hitachi LaChrom Elite HPLC system with PDA detector, analytical balance, and benchtop refrigerated centrifuge. This area also has sample preparation area equipped with pH meter, stirrer, etc. Also available are DLS / zeta potential instrument, a FT-IR spectrometer, Centrivap concentrator with a -84°C cold trap and a high-vacuum pump, dissolution testing apparatus, and large shared -80° C freezers.
O’Brien Building
The O’Brien Building contains the majority of the ACPHS classrooms and teaching laboratories. It also houses several general and organic chemistry and microbiology research laboratories where research in synthetic and medicinal chemistry, neuro and cardiac toxicity, infectious diseases, molecular biology and physiology are conducted. Chemistry resources located in the O’Brien building include a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer, Waters HPLC system with PDA detector and refrigerated autosampler, a MicroCal VP-ITC Isothermal Titration Calorimetry system, and high capacity concentrators.
Molecular Microbiology resources located in the O’Brien building include a BD FACS Verse flow cytometer, conventional and real time PCR systems, gel documentation systems for PCR and western blot, tissue culture and biosafety cabinets, and super speed centrifuges.