Blastocyst Injection
Chimeric mice production is the service that producing live mice, i.e. chimeric mice, from the gene-targeted ES cells. There are several ways to generate chimeric mice. The most frequently used approach in TCF is blastocyst microinjection. By injecting gene-targeted ES cells into the cavity of blastocyst (i.e. 3.5-dpc embryo), researchers can get chimeric mice which is originated from the ES and host blastocyst. Alternatively, TCF also perform laser-assisted 8-cell microinjection which is done by injecting gene-targeted ES into 8-cell stage embryos whose zona pellucida is punctuated by a laser shoot.
