Industry-Leading Research Facility

Four Rivers Kennel is located on 180 acres just south of the August A. Busch and Four Rivers Conservation area. The property boasts 9 technical ponds, a 6 acre duck slough, and both open and wooded areas, perfect for exercising the dogs.

During the day (weather permitting!), the dogs reside in fenced outside airing yards containing automatic waterers and shade. Our three kennel buildings are able to individually house 148 dogs, and contain automatic waterers, floor heat, exhaust fans, and HVAC systems for extreme temperatures.

Other facilities at the kennel include kitchen and laboratory areas, a bathing station, whelping facilities, and a separate area for our calorimetry machine. We have also recently built a separate laboratory building exclusively for our immune function and cell culture work.

We love giving tours! Please contact us to come and view the facility in person.

Analytical Laboratories

Four Rivers Kennel is growing to meet your research needs! We’ve recently added a new lab space that houses state of the art instrumentation to perform metabolomics research.

THERMO SCIENTIFIC DELTA V ADVANTAGE ISOTOPE RATIO MASS SPECTROMETER

The Delta V advantage is a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The Delta V IRMS is designed to perform high precision measurements of isotope ratios of H/D, 13C/12C, 15N/14N, and 18O/16O from a variety of materials. Prior to analysis by the mass spectrometer, the samples are transformed into pure gaseous substances: H2, N2, CO, and CO2. This is achieved by oxidation, reduction or high temperature conversion using different inlet and preparation systems for which the Delta V provides a flexible and open platform. The Delta V is connected to a GasBench sample preparation device interfaced to the mass spectrometer.

In our analytical lab, this instrument is used to perform indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) studies to assess specific amino acid requirements, and to measure amino acid and protein flux.

THERMO SCIENTIFIC ULTIMATE 3000 UHPLC SYSTEM

The UltiMate 3000 is an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography system designed to separate and quantify small amounts of chemicals or analytes of interest. Quantification of a variety of chemicals is possible via detection with UV/Vis and Fluorescence detectors.

In our lab, the UHPLC is used for a variety of analyses, including amino acids and isoflavones.

THERMO SCIENTIFIC TRACE 1310 GC AND ISQ 7000 MS

The Thermo Scientific Trace 1310 gas chromatograph, coupled with an ISQ 7000 single quadrupole mass spectrometer, is designed to detect small quantities of trace chemicals in samples. Our lab currently uses the GC/MS to assess short-chain fatty acids, and we are rapidly expanding our validated methods.

CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Four Rivers Kennel’s cutting-edge immunology and mammalian cell culture laboratory has been specifically designed for assaying, quantifying, and profiling an array of immune signaling, membrane permeation, and proliferative response. Our trained cell culture technicians can evaluate and measure contrasting immune responses to stimuli in vitro, minimizing in vivo risk to the research canine. Our cell culture and immunology lab is equipped with liquid nitrogen cryopreservation storage for your long-term or short-term focus on finite or continuous cell lines of interest. Multiparametric flow cytometry, utilizing the newest laser technology, allows our laboratory to collect a wide range of immunological data simultaneously for accurate and complete analyses. The average cost of this work is typically quoted on a per project basis as research needs tend to vary.

Our laboratory is equipped with Thermo Scientific Varioskan Lux and Luminex Magpix plate readers, which we use for immunoassays to measure various biomarkers.

Interested in working with us?