Research Facilities
Modern biochemical research depends heavily on instrumentation and other supporting facilities. Individual laboratories in the Department are well equipped with instrumentation necessary to achieve the goals of the lab. In addition, there are many pieces of shared equipment in the Department. The Department and the campus have a commitment to maintaining the most modern equipment for biochemical research, and both departmental and campus funds along with federal grant funds are used to maintain and upgrade the instruments available for research.
National Magnetic Resonance Facility (NMRFAM) is an NIH-funded, shared instrumentation laboratory located in the Biochemistry Department and directed by Professor John Markley. NMRFAM contains nine modern multinuclear NMR spectrometers with field strengths between 400 MHz and 900 MHz equipped for the most demanding multidimensional, multinuclear spectroscopic applications. Cryogenically cooled probes are installed on five of the instruments. Both Bruker and Varian spectrometers are available. Projects focus on structural determinations and development of methods. NMRFAM staff members carry out core research projects and make available to service and collaborative users the techniques and technology developed through these projects.
The Biophysics Instrumentation Facility (BIF) houses the following equipment: an isothermal titration calorimeter, differential scanning calorimeter, analytical ultracentrifuge, circular dichroism spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and surface plasmon resonance detector. This ensemble of instruments enables thorough characterization of conformation, structure, and complexation. These interrelated properties are the basis for biological function. The facility is directed by Professor Ron Raines and is supervised by an Instrumentation Specialist who helps students perform their experiments. Also found in laboratories of the Department are state-of-the-art equipment for mass spectrometry, electron paramagnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, fluorescence spectroscopy and anisotropy, fluorescence activated cell sorting, phosphorimaging, microcalorimetry, electron microscopy and chromatography.
The Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics (CESG) is a collaborative effort to elucidate the three-dimensional structure of many of the proteins encoded by the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. Starting with characterized cDNA clones, recombinant protein is produced and subsequently purified. The three dimensional structure of the proteins is then determined via either X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). All solved structures will be promptly placed in public databases including the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and BioMagResBank (BMRB).
Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank (BMRB)
BMRB's mission is to collect, archive, and disseminate (worldwide in the public domain) the important quantitative data derived from NMR spectroscopic investigations of biological macromolecules. Relevant data are deposited by the scientists who generate them, and in consultation with these scientists, BMRB resolves any problems with the self-consistency and completeness of the deposition. In collaboration with the Protein Data Bank, BMRB provides links between the spectral data and associated atomic coordinates. BMRB works with the user community to develop formats for these data that can be parsed by computers and used for knowledge generation, alone and in conjunction with information from other databases. BMRB's goal is to empower scientists in their analysis of the structure, dynamics, and chemistry of biological systems and to support further development of the field of biomolecular NMR spectroscopy. Through international collaborations and mirror sites, BMRB endeavors to involve the participation of a wider group of scientists and to enhance its services worldwide.
Biochemistry TEM Facility
TEM houses a state of the art Technai T12 transmission electron microscope with high quality digital imaging capabilities. The electron microscope is the standard for sub-cellular ultrastructural imaging at high magnification. A full complement of specimen preparation equipment is onsite as well.
Support Facilities
Information Technology
The Information Technology (IT) Group supports all of the computing facilities and equipment in the department. Members of the Department have access to the latest in research computing technologies, including an advanced computer network which links to cutting-edge campus facilities for bioinformatics, sequence analysis and molecular graphics, including 2D and 3D structural modeling of proteins and RNAs. The Biochemistry Department operates an infrastructure of highly available, highly-redundant centralized file storage, guaranteeing the safety and security of all digital research data.
The IT Group also provides computer hardware and software help desk support to every member of the Department, as well as access to a variety of desktop software like Adobe Creative Suite and DNAStar. They also maintain all the Departmental network services including Email, Web, File Storage and File Backup, Directory, Database, and Custom Applications.
Media Center
The Media Center Group is the Departments' resource for help with preparing illustrations, photographs, videos, and presentations for the researchers and staff. The Media personnel offer help desk support and training with various illustration and layout programs, as well as the creation of original figures, posters, and presentations.