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State-of-the-Art InstrumentationBioscience's research capabilities are greatly enhanced by the Division's instrumentation resources as well as close proximity to additional resources throughout the Laboratory. Although many of these machines were purchased to be used for specific programs, they are generally shared throughout the Division and contribute to numerous collaborative projects. Mass SpectrometryWe have three commercial mass spectrometers that are used daily for protein/peptide and nuclear acid analysis: a Perceptive MALDI-TOF DE-STR mass spectrometer, a ThermoFinnigan Ion Trap electrospray Mass Spectrometer and a Dual ionization source (both MALDI and electrospray) QSTAR XL mass spectrometers. Both electrospray mass spectrometers can be coupled with high throughput online/offline multiple-dimensional separations for complex proteome profiling and quantitation. These instruments are also used in conjunction with stable isotopes for metabolomics and small molecule characterization. Nuclear Magnetic ResonanceThe Division is equipped with two 500-MHz Bruker spectrometers (one Avance and one DRX)m wide-bore Bruker AMX 400-MHz spectrometer, and two Bruker DPX 300-MHz spectrometers, all of which are equipped with a variety of probes to enhance their versatility. The facility also has three Silicon Graphics computers for off-line data processing and analysis. All computers and instruments are connected through high-speed secure network connections. Protein Production RobotBioscience is home to a protein purification system robot, developed by the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and sold by Kalypsys. This robot is especially useful as it can simultaneously prepare 96 individual samples – thus creating the equivalent of 96 1-liter cultures of protein in one day, a task that could take nearly 30 technicians to complete. The robot is primarily used by researchers in the Los Alamos Molecular Recognition Alliance for the development of affinity reagents. 454 SequencerThis instrumentation, made by 454 Life Sciences, is a recent addition to Bioscience Division.. The 454 uses pyro sequencing which is a new, completely different approach compared to traditional capillary sequencing, also called Sanger sequencing. Sanger sequencing uses fluorescent labels to identify the four different nucleotides that make up the genetic information, and is limited by the number of capillaries making it necessary to use 75-100 plates for a 3 megabase microbial genome to an adequate depth. Conversely, the 454 works by synthesizing a strand complementary to the desired genome using a chemiluminescent enzymatic reaction that creates a light signal when each nucleotide is incorporated into the growing strand. This process happens on a slide that contains nearly a million wells, making it possible to sequence the same 3 megabase genome to an adequate depth in only two runs. This spring, Bioscience will receive an upgraded model of the 454 allowing them to sequence two different 3 megabase microbial genomes simultaneously in as little as one run. The 454 was purchased primarily for high throughput sequencing in pathogen sequencing projects currently underway in B-5 Group. However, it will also serve as a valuable resource for the LANL Joint Genome Institute projects and is being considered for use in the High Throughput Laboratory Network collaboration with UCLA. |
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