Synchrotron radiation from electron storage rings provides an extremely intense and tunable source of x-rays which have broad applicability to studies in structural molecular biology. A Biomedical Technology Resource was established at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) in 1980 to study the structure and dynamics of biological materials using protein crystallography, x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray small angle scattering. This proposal is for the continued funding, operation and further development of this program. In each of the three methodology areas, new initiatives are planned which are centered around novel x-ray instrumentation and new detectors.
Major aims i nclude development of: an """"""""imaging plate"""""""" storage phosphor system for static and time-resolved diffraction and scattering studies; advanced solid state HgI2 array detectors for dilute XAS measurement; and a new instrument for XAS investigations in the 2-4 keV spectral region. These developments will continue to be supported by a strong core and core-collaborative research programs that include both Stanford and outside scientists. Relevance is to a number of important biological problems including the structure of enzymes, metalloproteins, membrane-bound proteins and immunoglobulins; the active site structure of metalloproteins involved in nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and oxygen metabolism; and how selected of these structures change in different states or evolve in time as reactions occur. An important goal is to provide support for these new facilities and to make them widely available to the national and international scientific user community. The program will continue to provide the opportunity for training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the use of this state-of-the-art instrumentation. In early 1991, SSRL will be fully dedicated to synchrotron research and is expected to double the running time per year thus even more effectively serving the user community. The Resource will continue to provide leadership in applications of synchrotron radiation to solve problems at the forefront of biophysics and structural molecular biology research.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 604 publications
