Zoom in on biology at atomic level, with TCSB services, from Protein Purification, Biophysical Characterization to Structure Determination and Analysis

The Technion Center for Structural Biology (TCSB) was established to enhance structural and molecular studies of wide-ranging areas in life sciences, with an emphasis on functional and mechanistic understanding of how biological molecules function together. The high-resolution structure-function studies are often crucial to understand the molecular basis of diseases and for the rational development of therapeutics.

Structural Biology is a branch of life sciences that addresses the huge challenges of understanding the roles of biological macromolecules by deciphering their distinctive three-dimensional structures. Since each macromolecule has a unique structure that dictates a distinctive biochemical activity, structural data is very insightful in studying biological functions and valuable in modulation of activities for therapeutic purposes. Toward this goal, the center offers both expertise and high-end infrastructure for high-resolution macromolecular crystallography research to zoom in on biology at the atomic level.

To enable complementary studies in protein research, the center houses a biophysical unit for protein stability and binding affinity measurements. The Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (nanoDSF) technique is used for measuring protein stability by monitoring changes in the intrinsic fluorescence upon heating of the sample and aggregation detection by back-reflection technology. Binding affinity measurements between molecules can be performed by the Isothermal Titration Calorimeter (NanoITC), a highly sensitive technique based on enthalpy, or by the Microscale Thermophoresis (MST), which is based on kinetics.