SPECTROSCOPY AND CALORIMETRY FACILITY AT LNBIO/CNPEM - AN OPEN ACCESS LABORATORY FOR BIOMOLECULES CHARACTERIZATION, QUALITY CONTROL AND BINDING EXPERIMENTS

The Spectroscopy and Calorimetry Laboratory (LEC) was established in 2002, and since then has played a central role in the biophysical investigation of proteins, integrating the structural and functional characterization platforms of macromolecules at LNBio. The laboratory has a wide range of equipment that includes spectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrometer, circular dichroism spectrophotometers (CD), isothermal titration calorimeters (ITC), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), microscale thermophoresis (MST), nano-differential scanning fluorimetry (nano-DSF), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and size-exclusion chromatography with multi-angle light scattering (SEC-MALS).
The facility is fully capable of providing information related to quality control of biomolecules, structural and functional characterization of proteins, thermodynamic study of macromolecular interactions, screening of working conditions, thermal and chemical stability experiments, molecular dynamics studies and evaluation of reaction kinetics. Additionally, it is possible to measure molecular weight, size, zeta potential, shape and conformation of biological macromolecules, some polymers, and nanoparticles. Our activities include from providing research and infrastructure, services provision, developing new methodologies, training in techniques and equipment, assisting in the acquisition and processing of data and conducting courses and workshops.
LEC has national coverage and operates in a continuous mode, without costs for academic users. Proposals can be submitted at any time of the year, following the steps: I) proposal submission via internet (sauonline.cnpem.br), II) analysis of technical and safety feasibility, III) scheduling, IV) training and support and V) carrying out experiments.
Our experienced staff is available to assist with experiment development, data analysis, and support with the interpretation of experiments to obtain good data.
LNBio is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a private, non-profit, research and development institution under supervision of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI).