Information for corporate customers
The zebrafish core facility offers comprehensive, standardized experimental pipelines tailored for corporate research needs. The zebrafish model is integral to modern drug discovery and is widely applied in translational and pre clinical research. As the largest zebrafish facility in the Nordic region, we provide a full service portfolio for corporate partners, managing complete research projects from experimental design to data acquisition.
We routinely operate under non‑disclosure agreements, ensuring full confidentiality. Our work follows a GLP‑aligned core‑facility concept, with all procedures standardized and validated in‑house. Husbandry is performed exclusively by trained staff, and researcher access to animals is restricted to terminal procedures to ensure quality and reproducibility.
Below is an overview of our main service pipelines. All workflows can be adapted or newly developed upon request.
Permits and access to zebrafish strains
We provide all required permits for experiments on embryos under five days of age, eliminating the need for personal ethical licenses. Corporate users also gain direct access to commonly used wild‑type and transgenic lines, with all animals maintained by our staff under validated SOPs prioritizing welfare and reproducibility. This integrated approach enables project initiation within approximately seven days of initial contact.
Toxicity profiling
Zebrafish embryos are a robust model for small‑molecule toxicity studies. We offer several established pipelines:
- Morphological toxicity profiling: Embryos are exposed to compounds in 96‑well plates and imaged using high‑throughput zebrafish‑specific systems.
- Behavior toxicity profiling: Automated Noldus‑based tracking captures movement, stimulus response, and memory‑related behaviors in 48‑ or 96‑well setups, supporting research in epilepsy, neurodegeneration, and muscular dystrophies.
- Cardiac toxicity profiling: Due to the close similarity between zebrafish and human cardiac electrophysiology, embryos are used to assess cardiac effects. Heartbeats are filmed in 96‑well plates, and QT‑intervals are measured using dedicated analysis software.
- Regulatory toxicity profiling: We routinely run standardized toxicity tests like OECD212/215, SS-EN ISO15088 and others on single substances or complex mixtures like sewage samples or other effluents.
Xenografts and cancer modelling
Our team has extensive experience creating cancer xenograft models by transplanting cell lines or primary patient material into embryos. We maintain validated protocols for both perivitelline (sub‑cutaneous equivalent) and orthotopic transplantations, supporting hematological and brain cancer models. Standard throughput reaches hundreds of embryos per session with 24 individuals per condition. Automated imaging in 96‑well plates enables quantitative analysis of tumor progression.
Infections and high‑containment research
We support infection models using BSL‑2 classified pathogens delivered via immersion or microinjection. Fluorescent immune‑cell reporter lines enable detailed imaging and functional studies. Infected embryos can be exposed to compounds and imaged using high‑throughput systems.
Additional techniques
Our facility also offers:
- Nanoparticle injections
- CRISPR/Cas9‑based genome editing
- Morpholino‑mediated knockdown
- Large‑scale embryo production
- Cryopreservation and IVF services
For further details, contact zebrafish-office@km.ki.se