Resources available in the Biochemistry department

The ability to maintain competitive research programs and train scientists with skills relevant to the future depends not only on the quality of the faculty, but the availability of state-of-the-art instrumentation. The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has long recognized the importance of this factor, and maintains an ongoing program for the purchase, upgrade, and maintenance of technologically innovative and sophisticated instrumentation. Recent years have seen the expansion of the department's infrastructure to support research in the rapidly emerging area of proteomics.

Proteomics Center

The department recently purchased an ABI QSTAR Mass spectrometer. The QSTAR® XL Hybrid LC/MS/MS System is a high-performance, hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer designed for protein identification and characterization and drug metabolism studies. The state of the art proteomics system generates MS and MS/MS data from both atmospheric pressure ionization (API) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) techniques. It has the capacity to do precursor ion scanning, which allows identification of the type and location of post-translational modifications or drug metabolites with very high specificity and sensitivity. The facility is staffed by a full-time technician to conduct the mass spectrometry scans and help researchers collect and analyze their MS data.

The facility also maintains a PerSeptive Biosystems Voyager MALDI-TOF (Matrix Activated Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight) mass spectrometer which researchers can use without assistance from the proteomics staff. It has the capability of providing the molecular weight and composition of a macromolecule of virtually any size. This information is used for rapid identification of proteins by searching databases for proteins with matching size and composition.

SMART system

The SMART system is a state-of-the-art protein purification system that is capable of analytical quality protein separations using extremely small quantities of starting material. Protein purified with this system is suitable for MALDI mass spectrometry.

Molecular Graphics Facility

The Molecular Graphics Facility is equipped with a SGI Octane UNIX Workstation. Available software includes RIBBONS, MIDAS, GRASP, MOLSCRIPT, MODELLER, GROMOS, and WHATIF. The programs allow visualization of macromolecules including stereoscopic views, analysis of properties related to the structure of macromolecules, building models of protein and DNA molecules, and molecular dynamic calculations.

Bioinformatics facility

The bioinformatics facility is equipped with two Linux servers for support of proteomics and genomics applications. The bioinformatics facility provides custom database design and programming, support for microarray analysis, genomic sequence assembly, genomic annotation, and script development for automation of protein and DNA sequence searches. Available software includes the MASCOT server for peptide mass searches, NCBI BLAST for local database sequence searching, the EMBOSS suite for nucleic and protein sequence analysis, HMMer for protein domain searches and a MySQL database server.

Transgenic Mouse Facility

Housed at the Pediatric Research Institute, the Transgenic Mouse Facility will work on a fee-for-service basis with investigators who have the appropriate genomic clones to produce genetically modified mice from murine 129 ES cells.

William H. Elliott Mass Spectrometer Facility

In 1965, Dr. Elliott purchased one of the first commercially available mass spectrometers ever to be imported into the US. James Shoemaker, M.D., Ph.D., founded the Metabolic Screening Lab in 1989 to use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to diagnose human metabolic disorders. The facility now includes a VG Trio 2 GC-MS with EI, CI, FAB and thermospray capabilities and a FISONS MD 800 benchtop GC-MS. Two Hewlett-Packard benchtop GC-MS instruments are also available for use by the department. website: http://biochemweb.slu.edu/msl/

Specialized Instrumentation

Laboratories within the department contain a variety of specialized instrumentation. This includes a BioRad CHEF-DRIII gel system for separation of extremely large molecules of DNA (up to 4 megabases); BioRad Biolistic particle delivery system for biolistic transformations of fungal, plant, and animal cells; multiple HPLC, FPLC, and chromatography systems; and an isolated perfused heart lab with Powerlab software for ventricular pressure and EKG monitoring.

Real-time PCR

The department now has a real-time" or kinetic PCR instrument, DNA Engine Opticon® 2 Continuous Fluorescence Detection System from MJ Research. This instrument provides investigators with the ability to perform very sensitive, accurate, and reproducible measurements of levels of gene expression. In addition, this instrument can be used in other applications such as measuring viral load, performing allelic discrimination studies, and optimizing PCR conditions.

Resources available in other departments

• Affymetrix microarry facility located in the University Cancer center, but with a node in the MMI department.
• FACSCaliber flow-cytometer with cell sorter
• Phosphoimaging system
• Pharmacia AKTA FPLC system
• Olympus digital fluorescence microscope with an attached SPOT digital camer
• Confocal microscope with technician
• A state-of-the-art, 44,700-sq.-ft. animal care facility is located in the Department of Comparative Medicine. This facility is supervised by three veterinarians and has multiple technical staff who provide assistance to investigators on a cost basis. The facility has rooms and microisolator cages for quarantined research with regular and immunodeficient mice infected with adenovirus vectors.
• Saint Louis University maintains electronics and machine shops that are available to investigators. The electronics shop provides high-quality, in-house service for all standard laboratory equipment.
• Saint Louis University Hybridoma Development Service, located in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology department, provides a full range of hybridoma or monoclonal antibody development services at very competitive prices.