Facilities

The Chemical Biology Lab (CBL) is located in building 376 and houses state of the art facilities to support chemical biology and materials development. The CBL is outfitted with modern synthetic labs enabling small molecule, peptide, bioconjugation and materials chemistry. Bacterial and mammalian cell culturing facilities are also housed in the CBL as well as instrumentation facilitating biophysical and materials analysis.

The CBL also maintains an in-house Mass Spectrometry Facility that utilizes an Agilent 1200/1100 LC/MSD system and Shimadzu Biotech Axima-CFR Plus MALDI-ToF MS. These open-access instruments offer a range of options in terms of sample introduction and ionization method. The Agilent LC/MSD is an integrated LC/MS system that is comprised of a 100-position autosampler, binary high-pressure solvent delivery system, diode-array UV detector, multimode ion source for both electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), and a single quadrupole mass filter with a mass range of 100 - 3000 Daltons (Da). As such, it is an extremely versatile analytical tool for characterizing small to large molecules. The Axima is a medium to high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer that uses matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization (MALDI) to effect sample analysis. It can be operated in either linear or reflectron mode, with the latter mode allowing high-resolution MS analysis for small to medium-size molecules. This instrument is typically calibrated for the mass range 300 - 5000 Da, although ions in excess of 75,000 Da can be detected. Addition of a third, high-performance, high-resolution, tandem MS instrument to the CBL MS Resource is planned for the near future facilitating advanced proteomic and glycomic experiments.

The CBL NMR Spectroscopy Facility houses three NMR spectrometers. Two similarly-configured Varian INOVA 400 MHz instruments are used for routine compound characterization and are configured for both direct and indirect detection. Capabilities include broadband nuclei detection, including fluorine-19. A 500 MHz INOVA instrument is used primarily for more challenging molecules such as peptides, glycopeptides and DNA. Probes include indirect broadband, triple resonance and an H-F model for both fluorine detect and decoupling. The facility implements off-line NMR processing with several programs including mNova, NMRPipe, NMRViewJ and Datachords. The CBL NMR facility interfaces closely with the other labs in the Molecular Discovery Program (Structural Biophysics Lab and the Molecular Targets Lab) allowing access to additional high field magnets including 600, 700 and 800 MHz instruments. These magnets are located directly proximal to the CBL.

The CBL is located in building 376, which is also home to the Small Animal Imaging Program. This facility performs Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Ultrasound, Positron Emission Tomography and Optical Imaging offering investigators a wide range of imaging possibilities.

In addition to the facilities located in building 376, CBL investigators can benefit from the resources provided by the Advanced Technology Program located on the Frederick National Lab campus. This program provides experimental support in: Proteins and Proteomics (Antibody Characterization, Protein Expression and Chemistry and Proteomics and Analytical Technologies); Imaging and Nanotechnology (Electron Microscopy, Optical Microscopy and Nanotechnology Characterization); and Genetics and Genomics (Sequencing and Molecular Technology).