Chemistry and Structural Biology

The Chemical Synthesis Group is a component of the Chemical Biology Laboratory. This facility provides synthetic chemistry resources and expertise to the NCI Intramural community.The facility’s capabilities include:Providing expertise, consultation, and experience in areas of chemical synthesis and purification., Providing custom synthesis and support for the development of small molecule tools or the synthesis of known ligands or probes which are not commercially available., Synthesis of materials for pre-clinical investigations., Support for small-molecule drug discovery through optimizati… [learn more]

Bruker AVANCE 400 and 500 MHz NMR instruments. Helium Cryoprobe technology on the 500 MHz machine for added sensitivity, especially for Carbon-13 spectra. Access to a second 500 MHz instrument with Prodigy  Liquid Nitrogen-cooled cryoprobe . User Accounts can be created for automated setup and experiment acquisition.  Use of ICONNMR automated software with 24-slot sample changers on each machine. User training available. Some service to those who are unfamiliar with NMR can be performed either as a one-time aid for compound identification or as a collaborative project for more extensive … [learn more]

The CCR Molecular Modeling Core, under the direction of Dr. Stewart Durell, was established to provide a convenient way for experimentalists to take advantage of molecular modeling and computational biology. In the framework of consultations, scientists can explore how such tools could benefit their projects. The Core then acts as a clearinghouse to help set up and use appropriate software, and/or form collaborations with other scientists. Upon mutual agreement, Core personnel will enter into a collaboration to do the modeling work themselves. All services of the Core are free … [learn more]

The Crystallization Facility provides an automated environment for setting up crystallization experiments in a high-throughput format, storing the resulting plates under controlled conditions, and monitoring the status of prepared droplets remotely. The Facility is in Building 538, Rooms 215 and 222. The Facility also provides support in interpretation of results as well as collaborative efforts for all stages of determination of macromolecular structures using X-ray crystallography—from crystal growth, data collection, and structure solution to structure interpretation. [learn more]

The NMR Facility for Biological Research operates six NMR spectrometers with proton resonance frequencies from 850 to 500 MHz. Four of the highest field spectrometers (850, 800, 700, 600) are equipped with helium cooled cryoprobes optimized for high-resolution experiments on biological samples in solutions. These high field instruments are dedicated to research projects conducted by laboratories within Center for Structural Biology.  The second 600 MHz spectrometer is set up as reconfigurable development system with multiple probes allowing for high-resolution liquid state as well as biosolid… [learn more]

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a powerful technique in structural biology. SAXS enables the investigation of the structure and dynamics of biomacromolecules under various buffer conditions, including salt concentration, pH, presence or absence of ligands, and changes in temperature and pressure. SAXS provides insights into global information about the size and shape of biomacromolecules, conformational changes, complex formation, quaternary structure, oligomerization behavior, assembly and folding, flexibility of fragments, or entire structures, etc. SAXS data can also be used in t… [learn more]

The research conducted within the Synthetic Biologics Core (SBC) Facility has a dual role:  1) generate chemical biology tools and drug candidates for molecular targets identified by NCI research groups and 2) develop novel effective methods and tools for more effective molecular discovery. Chemical biology tools for studying protein functions have many advantages over applications of genetic approaches for studying protein functions. However, wide use of chemical probes is hampered by the difficulties in their generation and characterization. Because the majority of cancer driver… [learn more]