Keck Biophysics Facility

Mission

The Keck Biophysics Facility offers access to a collection of  advanced instruments for integrated studies of the structure, dynamics and interactions of biological and synthetic macro-molecules. The Keck Facility provides research groups at Northwestern with state of the art equipment, outstanding services, specialized training and  technical expertise.

Equipment Available

• Circular Dichroism Spectrometer (J-815)
• Fluorescence Polarization Instrument (BEACON 2000)
• Photon -Counting Fluorescence Spectrometer (ISS PC1)
• Differential Scanning Calorimeter (VP-DSC)
• Isothermal Titration Calorimeter (ITC₂₀₀)
• Surface Plasmon Resonance(Reichert 4SPR)
• HPLC (Agilent 1100)
• Size Exclusion Chromatography with Light Scattering Detectors (SEC-MALS-QELS)
• Dynamic Light Scattering Instrument (BI-9000/BI-200)
• Gel Imaging System
• Phosphoimager/Fluoroimager Scanner (Typhoon 9400)
• UV/Vis/NIR Spectrophotometer with Integrating Sphere (PE Lambda 1050)
• Fluorescence Plate Reader (Gemini EM)
• NanoDrop Fluorimeter

Services Offered

• For Registered Users:
  • Training
  • Assistance with experimental design, sample preparation and data analysis
  • Technical expertise, written manuals, guidelines and application notes
  • Staff -service options available on most instruments
  • Advanced services including:
    • Protein quality control (solubility, oligomeric state, secondary, tertiary structure assessment)
    • Secondary Biophysical Screening for protein-ligand interactions (hit confirmation, target validation, along with detailed kinetic and thermodynamic characterization of the protein-ligand interactions)

• For Prospective Users:
  • Consultation and assistance
  • Support letters for grant applications and research proposals
  • Tours and presentations of the facility for faculty or postdoctoral candidates

Acknowledgement

All manuscripts and grants presenting work supported by this core should include the following acknowledgement:

"This work was supported by the Northwestern University Keck Biophysics Facility and a Cancer Center Support Grant (NCI CA060553)."