Zebrafish Research Facility

National Research Council Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia
What the facility does

Innovative zebrafish research facility where a range of in vivo and in vitro assays, disease models and standardized models have been developed and validated.

Areas of expertise

Our facility utilizes adult, juvenile and early developmental stages of zebrafish as models to identify and characterize the bioactivity and evaluate the potential toxicity of new and existing chemicals. Genetic research indicates a high conservation between zebrafish and human genomes, making it an excellent model for generating biologically relevant information. We provide standardized and customizable testing models and methods for a range of substances including extracts, complex mixtures and purified compounds. We can accommodate collaborative research and testing service projects that focus on evaluating toxicological and pharmacological activity in the areas of natural health products and human health therapeutics. At between 0.1 and 1.0 per cent of the cost of traditional rodent models, the zebrafish provides a powerful model for helping companies prioritize their leads and uncover potential obstacles before reaching more expensive testing models and methods. Our zebrafish facility allows our partners to develop tailored industry testing methods that may generate biologically relevant data more rapidly and at a reduced cost of testing compared to higher vertebrate models.

Research services
  • Preclinical toxicity profiling
  • Identification of mechanism of action
  • Omics techniques
  • Pharmacological testing
  • Microscopy
  • High-throughput behavioural tracking
  • Bath, intravenous and intracerebroventricular administration
  • Testing feed and feed additives
Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
EquipmentFunction
Noldus Behavioural ZebraBoxAllows high throughput automated observation and tracking movements of zebrafish embryos, larvae and adults.
Union Biometrica VAST BioImager PlatformHigh-throughput, automated larval microscopic imaging system.