Present advances in structure determination by X-ray crystallography and Cryo-EM at the Argentinian Platform PLABEM (Póster)

MARÍA L. CERUTTI; LISANDRO OTERO; SEBASTIÁN KLINKE; FERNANDO A. GOLDBAUM

Salta

Workshop; First Workshop on Drug Discovery "How can Latin-American academic research laboratories participate in the discovery and development of next generation medicines?" Evento satélite del "Joint LV Annual SAIB Meeting and XIV PABMB Congress"; 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB)

The Argentinian Platform for Structural Biology and Metabolomics (PLABEM, www.plabem.gob.ar) is a facility focused on innovation, which provides the newest technology generation with applications in scientific research, biotechnology, translational medicine and food control. Structure determination by protein crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) is one of our main research activities at the Crystallography Node located at the Leloir Institute in Buenos Aires. The Node is equipped with a Honeybee 963 crystallization robot and a controlled temperature room for crystal growth. Additionally, we operate a Bruker D8 QUEST copper microfocus diffractometer with a CMOS PHOTON 100 detector and a low-temperature attachment device that allows routine macromolecular X-ray diffraction data collection at 100 K. We also facilitate the access to the macromolecular crystallography beamlines PROXIMA 1 and 2A from the SOLEIL Synchrotron (France) through an Argentinian Block Allocation Group and organize the access via periodic proposals to high performance TEMs at the LNNano (Brazil) and CNB-Instruct (Spain) for Cryo-EM. In addition, in our recently founded Center for Protein Re-design and Engineering (CRIP) located at the National University of San Martín, we offer scientific assessment and laboratory capacities for upstream and downstream bioprocess development and optimization of bacterial and animal cell culture expressed products, along with a full package of analytical techniques for industrial partners and governmental technological projects. PLABEM offers the possibility of achieving the resolution of three-dimensional structures of macromolecules by X-ray diffraction and Cryo-EM for the entire Argentine academic system. The activities carried out are not only what is offered by a classic facility (this is, to enable the access to expensive equipment and know-how to end users), but also the Platform is consultative, collaborative, and provides an important intellectual capital promoting the training of human resources by means of stays and courses.