The Analytical and Structural Biochemistry (ASB) unit is devoted to the production, analysis and functional characterization of biological macromolecules including recombinant proteins, antibodies and nucleic acids. We also offer our expertise in bioinformatics and structural biology to the iMM community for the study of structure-function relationships in biological macromolecules and in-silico drug design by computer-aided methods.
Instruments & Services
The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments for the recovery and purification of recombinant proteins and other biomolecules, which includes a medium-pressure chromatographic system (AKTA Explorer), separation media (analytical and preparative-size columns) and specialized laboratory hardware. For in-silico applications we have 35 processing cores in two Intel-based i7 systems with 20 Tb of storage space.
The ASB facility services include:
• Consulting: design of cloning strategies and expression flowcharts for recombinant proteins. Design of purification strategies for maximizing protein recovery. Follow-up of the expression-purification results.
• Protein purification: application of chromatographic techniques for the recovery and purification of proteins and other biomolecules from samples. Supported chromatographic separations: classical affinity chromatography with custom supports, IMAC, soft and strong ion-exchange, pseudo-affinity, hydrophobic interaction and size-exclusion chromatography.
• In-silico applications: protein and RNA sequence analysis. Protein structure prediction and analysis by homology modelling and threading. Molecular dynamics. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) by virtual drug screening and docking.
How to use the facility
If you need our help for your research projects please contact the facility director by email to discuss your requirements and goals (fenguita@medicina.ulisboa.pt).