High Pressure

Presentation

Four high-pressure thermo-regulated instruments are now available at the IBS. They consist of a spectrofluorimeter, an UV/visible spectrophotometer, a high-pressure steel vessel with a maximum pressure of 8 kbar and a gel electrophoresis system under high hydrostatic pressure. They allow to characterise the stability and activity of biological systems as a function of pressure (up to 4 or 5 kbar), to study the dissociating and denaturant effects of pressure (up to 8 kbar) and to measure stability. Pressure can also be used to promote and trap conformational states of the macromolecules.

Key words

High pressure, spectrometer, biomolecules, stability, activity.

Contact

Judith Peters and Eric Girard

Dedicated staff

Judith Peters (instrument responsible), Eric Girard (instrument co-responsible)

Access mode

Mostly academic.

Cost

The access cost will depend on the project and will have to be discussed with the platform responsible.

Location

The instruments are temporarily located in the ILL 20 building, second floor, r. 209. An invitation to the experiment and an identity card are requested to enter the ILL site.

How to make a request ?

Contact necessarily one of the scientists in charge of the platform who will evaluate the availability of the instrument, will suggest a date and will show the features and safety requirements to the user.

Additional information

The instruments will become operational in the course of 2009.