Structural Biology

Our in-house experts support you by applying their experience to:

• Visualize proteins and other macromolecules using cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography
• Use structural insights to make informed decisions for each round of therapeutic design
• Map interactions between small molecules and their targets
• Precisely map epitopes of antibodies and antibody-like molecules

The role of structural biology

Structure-based drug design (SBDD) is a critical part of the drug discovery process revealing which atoms are important for each interaction and supporting the design of new, more potent molecules. Using our in-house expertise and through trusted partnerships we can perform cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography to elucidate the atomic details of macromolecular targets. 

To ensure high-quality sample preparation and increase the chances of successful structure determination, we also provide protein production services and a comprehensive quality control package. For the assessment of interacting partners, we also provide a suite of complimentary interaction analysis techniques, allowing you to assess the driving forces behind each molecular interaction. 

X-Ray crystallography service

X-ray crystallography is a powerful technique that can reveal the three-dimensional structure of proteins and can help drug discovery programs by providing detailed information on how potential drugs interact with their target proteins at the atomic level.

• We use X-ray crystallography to aid fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) campaigns optimizing the small molecules into more effective lead compounds to accelerate your lead discovery program
• The three-dimensional structure of proteins we reveal can help your drug discovery programs by providing detailed information as to how potential drugs interact with their target proteins at the atomic level. This provides insight into their mechanism of action, helping design and optimize drugs that have high affinity and specificity for your targets
• We have access to the UK based synchrotron facility, allowing the use of X-ray crystallography to generate target-ligand complexes
• We perform co-crystallization and soaking optimization for co-structure determination

Cryo EM services

Cryo EM samples are prepared in solution, making it possible to solve structures of multiple states in a single sample. It is a powerful complementary technique to X-ray crystallography, as it can handle large, flexible complexes that do not typically crystallize.  

We can provide crucial insight into the mechanism of action of therapeutics. Subsequently this drives cycles of the design-make-test-analyse (DMTA) drug discovery cycle, accelerating your drug development program. 

Cryo EM can be used to visualise macromolecules in isolation or in complex with other molecules. We use Cryo EM for: 

• Structure determination of proteins and nucleic acids
• Small molecule binding site analysis
• Multi-subunit structure determination (e.g. ternary PROTAC structures)
• Antibody epitope mapping
• Membrane protein structure determination
• Viral particle structure determination
• Conformational state quantification