Seeing molecular structure is not easy. It takes sophisticated equipment to manipulate the nuclei in the case of NMR or study X-ray diffraction. The EU has created a network for access to these facilities called Instruct.
Due to the complexity and expense of the equipment used in structural biology, large scale funding is used to build national facilities for all scientists across the country. Major NMR facilities are located in Birmingham (900MHz) , Warwick (850MHz solids) and London (950MHz) .
Generating highly coherent and brilliant X-rays as required in structural biology by cyclic particle accelerators called synchrotrons. X-rays are emitted and focussed into beams at certain points called beamlines. Structural biology at Southampton uses the synchrotron facilities near Oxford ( Diamond Light Source ) and in Grenoble, France ( European Synchrotron Radiation Facility ).
Links to external websites
- Instruct
- The Diamond Light Source synchrotron facility
- The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
- The UK 850MHz Solid State NMR Facility
- HWB Biomolecular 900MHz NMR Facility
- MRC Biomedical 950MHz NMR Centre
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