The Lab - Introduction

The Deuteration Laboratory

The ILL, in collaboration with EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), has set up a laboratory for the Deuteration of biological molecules. The aim of the laboratory is to provide a focus for European scientists wishing to make their own deuterated materials for neutron scattering experiments.

The deuteration, partial or full, of biological molecules, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, sugars, is essential to exploit fully the techniques of neutron scattering. As part of it's strategy for the expansion of the life sciences program in neutron scattering the ILL,in collaboration with EMBL, is setting up a laboratory for the deuteration of biological molecules. A molecular biologist experienced in macromolecular deuteration has been appointed and a well-equipped laboratory provided. In support of this effort a major EU grant has been obtained by EMBL Grenoble, ILL, the University of Oxford, EMBL Heidelberg and the Institut de Biologie Structurale in Grenoble to develop different protocols and procedures of deuteration both for neutron scattering and NMR studies.

Aim

The aim of the laboratory is to provide a focus for European scientists wishing to make their own deuterated materials for neutron scattering experiments. Information for scientists wishing to carry out deuteration for NMR is treated separately. The laboratory will have its own vigorous in-house research program aimed at developing methods in deuteration as well as applying these methods to provide material for in-house neutron scattering studies. The in-house expertise and equipment will be made available to external users to develop their own deuteration projects. It is expected that users will have expressed their own cloned material in a fully hydrogenated environment and will come to the ILL/EMBL laboratory to carry out expression in a deuterated medium and, if necessary purification, through a collaboration with staff of the facility.

The ILL

The Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) is an international fundamental research institute funded by France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Agreements on scientific collaboration have also been signed with Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. The Institute operates a high neutron flux research reactor, which is used to conduct experiments in the following disciplines: structure and dynamics of condensed matter, with applications in physics, biology and materials science, and nuclear and elementary-particle physics. The instruments at ILL are available to guest scientists who are assisted by the Institute's scientists.

Biology

Neutron scattering is a diverse technique which is becoming increasingly important in understanding living processes. All living organisms are made up of cells. Understanding how they work at the molecular level is one of the main aims of modern biology. The molecular biology of the cell is thus very complex, and determining the structure and dynamics of all the molecules and molecular complexes that go to make it up is essential to understanding life's message. Fortunately we have a large number of chemical, biochemical and physical tools to study biological molecules and microcellular structures. In recent years, neutron scattering has played an increasing role which will continue to grow in the post-genome sequencing era.