Adeno-Associated Virus | Viral Vector Core Facility - Carver College of Medicine | The University of Iowa

The Viral Vector Core Facility at the University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine specializes in the production and distribution of viral vectors for research applications. The facility provides custom construction and amplification services for multiple vector types, including adenovirus, lentivirus (FIV and HIV-based), and other viral systems.

Adenovirus Vectors: The core uses the RapAd™ System for rapid generation of recombinant adenovirus vectors. These are E1 and E3 deleted, replication-deficient vectors capable of episomal gene expression in both dividing and non-dividing cells. They support transient high-level protein expression with inserts up to 7.5 kb and can achieve titers of 1×10¹⁰ to 1×10¹¹ pfu/ml. Services include new custom vector production from shuttle plasmids (6–10 week timeline) and reamplification of existing vectors.

Lentiviral Vectors: The facility produces FIV-based, second-generation HIV, and third-generation HIV vectors via multi-plasmid transfection. These non-replicating systems support stable integration and long-term transgene expression. FIV vectors are delivered at titers ≥1×10⁸ TU/ml; HIV vectors at ≥1×10⁷ TU/ml (second generation) or ≥1×10⁷ TU/ml (third generation). Production timelines are 4–5 weeks.

Collaboration & Repository: The core collaborates with The Michael J. Fox Foundation on Parkinson's disease research, providing a repository and virus distribution plan.

Quality Control: All vectors undergo rigorous quality control, including infectious titer determination, screening for replication-competent virus contamination, and full plasmid sequencing validation. Custom pricing is available for academic non-profit and commercial customers.