Materials Research Science and Engineering Center

Biological Materials

The Biological Materials Facility (BMF) exists to make biological materials used in the MRSEC that are not available commercially.

BMF makes these materials accessible to both Brandeis and extramural materials scientists that do not have the equipment and expertise necessary to produce and handle them themselves. The BMF promotes adoption of MRSEC model systems through distribution of materials, consulting and training visitors. The BMF has provided support to 30 different research groups spanning nine countries.

The BMF is equipped to conduct expression, purification and biochemical/biophysical analysis of proteins and protein complexes used by both MRSEC interdisciplinary research groups (IRG) — IRG1: Self-Limiting Assembly and IRG2: Soft Active Materials. A variety of high-performance liquid chromatography tools are already available and will grow to suit the needs of BMF clients.

Clients are welcome and encouraged to participate in these activities, either under supervision of BMF staff or independently with demonstrated competence. Consulting is also available on design, conduct and interpretation of any research involving biological materials. These services are also accessible to users outside of MRSEC or Brandeis University who can provide their own consumables.

Several photos of students handling laboratory equipment, with the words "Community Biolab" "Training" "Consulting" "Materials Resource Center" and "Provided support to 30 research groups spanning 9 countries."

Available Equipment

We offer the following equipment. Please contact Dr. Shibani Dalal for access or more information.

Incubation

1. Shaking incubators (total shaken flask capacity 17 x 2 L)

a. Excella E25 - no refrigeration, 10 x 2 L
b. Barnstead MaxQ 4000 A-Class - in the cold room, 4 x 2 L

2. Fermenter - New Brunswick BioFlo 320

Working volume range: 0.6-1.9 L (0.25-40 L with a user-supplied single-use vessel (∼$500))

Centrifugation

1. Centrifuges

a. Beckman Optima TL (100,000 RPM)
b. Beckman Avanti J-30I (10,000 RPM)
c. Beckman Optima XE-90 (90,000 RPM)
d. Sorvall Legend RT (15,000 RPM)

2. Rotors

Rotor Speed Capacity
a. Type 45 Ti 235,000 x g 6 x 70 mL
b. Type 90 Ti 694,000 x g 8 x 13.5 mL
c. JA-10 17,700 x g 6 x 500 mL
d. TLA 100.4 543,000 x g 8 x 5.1 mL
e. Heraeus 6445 3,716 x g 4 x 750 mL

Protein Purification

a. AKTA Pure Chromatograph system

AKTA Pure Chromatograph system

b. Unicorn 6.4 control software
c. UV (280 nm) absorbance detector
d. F9-R fraction collector (175 x 12 mm tubes or 95 x 18 mm tubes)
e. Pre-packed columns

Typhoon FLA 9500Typhoon FLA 9500

Typhoon FLA 9500 is a variable mode laser scanner with modular access to the optical components, providing both versatile and flexible imaging for precise quantitation of proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules.

View the Getting Started manual.

Cold Room Bench Space