Diamond Light Source - eBIC for Industry

eBIC for Industry is a recently inaugurated center offering professional cryo-EM services to the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Situated at eBIC, a UK National Centre for cryo-electron microscopy, the partnership between Thermo Fisher Scientific and Diamond Light Source provides access to state-of-the-art microscopes and world-class experience. The density of high-end microscopes, access to complementary synchrotron-based techniques, and the on-site manufacturer experience in our team make eBIC for Industry a unique offer to the life science sector. 

"We were lucky to be the first UK site to have a K3 camera installed and in January, with support from Gatan, were able to get Latitude up and running at full speed. We’re now routinely getting 180 images an hour for our clients, which is an almost 3-fold increase in acquisition rates over the old K2 when the bigger chip size is also taken into consideration. This has translated in larger data sets for our users and shorter acquisition times, hence cost savings for their research budgets. We were are now able to collect enough data to get 2.3 Å apoferritin in 40 minutes!"
- Jason Van Rooyen, Senior Industrial Liaison Scientist, Cryo-Electron Microscopy at eBIC for Industry

Why choose eBIC for your research?

eBIC for Industry at Diamond Light Source provides industrial scientists with scalable on-demand access to state-of-the-art experimental equipment and expertise in the field of cryo-electron microscopy, for single particle analysis and cryo-tomography.

Their dedicated latest generation cryo-EM microscopes and detectors allow industrial users to routinely visualize macro-molecular complexes at near-atomic resolution, leveraging this powerful technique to solve difficult-to-crystallize and dynamic proteins of therapeutic interest.

eBIC for Industry provides an effective way in which to apply cryo-electron microscopy to your research, without the need for a large upfront investment in in-house equipment and expertise. Their experts are on hand to support you throughout the process; they are experienced in the challenges and workings of the pharma industry and have a breadth of knowledge from across an extensive customer base.

Confidentiality and data security are key for all of their industrial customers, and they apply stringent measures to ensure your data are stored and managed securely. Along with state-of-the-art facilities, the team will provide on-the-job training to ensure you get the most out of your time at Diamond.

Benefits for structural biology

Structural biology enables you to obtain absolute actionable insight into the mechanisms and interactions of partner molecules in fundamental biological or disease processes.

Using cryo-electron microscopy for your research enables you to:

• Achieve structural information without the need to crystallize your target protein 
• Image protein complexes and protein-ligand interactions
• Study macromolecules in as close to a native state as possible
• Identify and characterize dynamic biological states by observing multiple conformations.

Applications

Antibodies and vaccine research

Cryo-EM is an effective technique to map the interactions between antibodies and antigens in biological drug and vaccine design studies. Near-atomic resolution structures of entire viruses and virus-like particles are routinely achievable with this technique.

 

Characterization of nanotechnology/drug delivery systems

By providing structural information in as near to native conditions as possible, cryo-EM can support development and manufacturing programs for the design of new drug delivery systems such as liposomes and dendrimers. Elucidating structure-function relationships during the design of macromolecular-based nanotech devices is also commonly achieved using this technique. 

 

Drug discovery/rational design

Near-atomic resolutions can now be readily achieved using cryo-EM. These reveal not only the presence of but also the mechanism by which, compounds bind with their protein targets. Cryo-EM has, therefore, become indispensable to pharmaceutical R&D groups wanting to investigate the structures of difficult to crystallize proteins. In addition, many membrane proteins of considerable therapeutic interest, such as channels and receptors, are readily amenable to solution by cryo-EM. 

Want to know more?

Meeting the team