Facilities and Services
Facilities
Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Structural Biology
The Department has excellent facilities for macromolecular crystallography including the powerful X-ray generator & CCD detector along with robotics for crystal growth and visualisation. The laboratory's interests are wide and range from proteins involved in transcription factors, cell signalling and cellular adhesion to redox enzymes involved in drug action.
The NMR Facility is superbly equipped, with four high-field instruments (including cryo-probes), for studies of macromolecular structure and interactions in solution. The Facility has an international reputation in the biological applications of NMR spectroscopy, particularly in studies of enzyme structure and mechanism and protein-ligand interactions.
Molecular Enzymology Facility
The Department has excellent facilities for transient kinetic studies, having several stopped-flow rapid-mixing instruments with dual wavelength fluorescence (intensity and anisotropy), absorbance and photodiode array detection.
Microscopy/Imaging Facility
The Department houses a state-of-the-art fluorescence imaging facility within a dedicated suite of rooms on the 3 rd floor of the Henry Wellcome Building. The facility, primarily aimed at high resolution, multi-wavelength imaging of cultured cells, has been established through equipment grant funding generously provided by The Wellcome Trust.
Services
Geneta:Gene Targeting and Transgenic Service
The ‘Embryonic Stem Cell Facility’ was established in 1997 with support from the Wellcome Trust, but is now run on a self-supporting basis through contract generated income. The facility comprises a tissue culture suite with state-of-the-art equipment for culturing mouse embryonic stem cells and for generating ES cell lines with targeted genetic mutations.
Protein Expression Laboratory (PROTEX)
The protein expression laboratory will prepare protein expression clones in the vector of your choice. Multiple expression vectors from one set of primers. All you supply are two primers and a template.
The Protein Nucleic Acid Chemistry Laboratory (PNACL)
The Department makes extensive use of the Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry Laboratory (PNACL), which provides services for protein sequencing and automated DNA sequencing. Mass spectrometry facilities (electrospray and matrix assisted laser desorption) are available in the PNAC laboratory.
Biomedical Joint Workshops
The Biomedical Joint Workshops provide an efficient, cost-effective, customer-friendly service in the design, manufacture and repair of specialist equipment required for teaching and research in the School of Medicine and the School of Biological Sciences.
