Structural Biology & Biophysics Facility

Overview

The Structural Biology and Biophysics Facility is a University of Rochester research resource located within the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics. Our goal is to provide non-specialist and specialist users with access to biophysical instrumentation designed to:

• Determine macromolecular structures by X-ray crystallography
• Quantitatively characterize biomolecular interactions

Learn more about our Services and User Fees.

The facility features the following equipment:

1. Bruker AXS X8 Prospector Ultra microfocus IµS sealed-tube X-ray generator
2. Mosquito crystallization robot (TTP LabTech) or high-throughput, nanoliter-scale crystallization experiments
3. Microscopes for crystal viewing
4. Computers and software for structure determination and graphics
5. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) DynaPro Plate Reader II (Wyatt Technologies)
6. BIAcore T200 for automated surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
7. Vitrobot Mark IV (Thermo Fisher) for preparation of vitrified sample grids for Cryo-EM
8. Fluoromax-4 fluorimeter then renumber 8-11 to 9-12
9. ÄKTA Pure modular chromatography system
10. JASCO J-1100 Circular Dichroism (CD) spectrometer
11. Avestin EmulsiFlex-C3 Homogenizer
12. GloQube (Quorum Technologies) discharge system

Staff

Dr. Jermaine Jenkins is the Facility Manager who is available to train individuals in the use of core instruments. He can also assist with experimental design, data collection and data interpretation. Operation of the SBBF is overseen by a Dr Jenkins and the Biochemistry and Biophysics Department Chair Jeff Hayes.

Recent Facility Publications

• Berger KD, MacLean DM. Mechanism of acid-sensing ion channel modulation by Hi1a.  J Gen Physiol. 2024 Dec 2;156(12). PubMed PMID: 39446054; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11513431.
• Maji D, Jenkins JL, Boutz PL, Kielkopf CL. Recurrent Neurodevelopmentally Associated Variants of the Pre-mRNA Splicing Factor U2AF2 Alter RNA Binding Affinities and Interactions. Biochemistry. 2024 Nov 5;63(21):2718-2722. PubMed PMID: 39388459; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11542177.
• Iannuzzelli JA, Bonn R, Hong AS, Anitha AS, Jenkins JL, Wedekind JE, Fasan R. Cyclic peptides targeting the SARS-CoV-2 programmed ribosomal frameshifting RNA from a multiplexed phage display library. Chem Sci. 2024 Oct 17. PubMed PMID: 39568906; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11575553.
• Kiliushik D, Goenner C, Law M, Schroeder GM, Srivastava Y, Jenkins JL, Wedekind JE. Knotty is nice: Metabolite binding and RNA-mediated gene regulation by the preQ₁ riboswitch family. J Biol Chem. 2024 Oct 30;300(12):107951. PubMed PMID: 39486689.
• Srivastava Y, Akinyemi O, Rohe TC, Pritchett EM, Baker CD, Sharma A, Jenkins JL, Mathews DH, Wedekind JE. Two riboswitch classes that share a common ligand-binding fold show major differences in the ability to accommodate mutations. Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Oct 16. PubMed PMID: 39413212.
• Chiang W, Urban JM, Yanchik-Slade F, Stout A, Hammond JM, Nilsson BL, Gelbard HA, Krauss TD. Hybrid Amyloid Quantum Dot Nano-Bio Assemblies to Probe Neuroinflammatory Damage. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2024 Sep 4;15(17):3124-3135. PubMed PMID: 39146244 PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11378299

​See all publications »

Publications resulting from the use of instrumentation should reference support from NIH NCRR grants 1S10 RR026501 and 1S10 RR027241, as well as NIH NIAID P30 AI078498 and the University of Rochester SMD.