Scientific Program
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National User Facility
BioCARS is a national user facility for synchrotron-based structural biology. Two experimental stations (14-ID-B and 14-BM-C) are presently operated for macromolecular crystallography and (recently) fiber diffraction. All BioCARS beam time is available to the scientific community through the General User Program of the Advanced Photon Source. Extensive training and support are available to users through both informal and formal programs.
Scientific Specialties
- Time-resolved and Laue macromolecular crystallography (presently to nanosecond resolution with 100 picosecond resolution being developed). The facilities at BioCARS are unique at the APS; only two other beamlines in the world offer similar capabilities (ESRF ID09 and PF-AR NW14).
- Studies of biohazards at biosafety levels (BSL) 2 and 3. The BSL-3 facility is unique in the United States and one of two in the world (Diamond I03). All stations can be used for BSL-2/3 experiments; all necessary engineering controls and standard operating procedures are in place for safe conduct of such experiments.
- Nonstandard and customized experiments, e.g., on-line microspectrophotometer, topography of protein crystals, fiber diffraction (in collaboration with BioCAT, APS Sector 18).
- All standard macromolecular crystallography techniques (SAD/MAD, ultra-high resolution, large unit cells, etc.)
Funding
- Operational funding is provided by National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Heath since its founding in 1992.
- Facility upgrades to achieve approval for a BSL-2/3 rating were supported by funding from the Advanced Photon Source.
- Recent enhancement of time-resolved capabilities is a collaboration with Philip Anfinrud (NIH/NIDDK) and is supported by funding from NIH/NIDDK.
More about BioCARS: Facility and Scientific Mission › (PDF)