Biochemistry and Structural Biology Unit

Almost all aspect of life are engineered at the molecular level, and without understanding molecules we can only have a sketchy understanding of life itself

Francis Crick, 1988

(What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery)

The Unit supports the Department’s scientists by allowing the investigation of the structure and function of the biological molecules of their interest, and by generating protein tools for their experiments.

The Unit provides experienced assistance in biochemistry, a platform for protein and protein complexes expression in insect cells, a wide range of technologies for protein purification and characterisation, as well as for determination of affinities of macromolecular interactions. The Unit manages a technological platform for protein crystallisation, structural determination by X-ray crystallography and preparation of samples and grids for cryo-EM structure determination.