Current configuration of the equipment and the available expertise allows for all kind of the biomolecular NMR measurements to be performed. It is particularly well-suited for the structural analysis of variety of glycans, including screening of the surface carbohydrate antigens of bacteria (bacterial chemotyping) and complete structural analysis of complex polysaccharides and oligosaccharides as well as their interactions with receptors. The NMR probe-heads available at the Facility make the existing setup suitable for the research in the fields of proteomics, immunochemistry, biological chemistry and structural glycomics. The Facility is available 24/7 for use by all researchers of the Hirszfeld Institute as well as external parties (Internally, time may be booked using the online scheduler). The instrument is typically operated by the trained users, but Facility personnel can acquire data as a service if requested. The fee structure for the NMR measurment time is currently available upon request. The Facility remains open for all sorts of scientific collaboration.
Laboratory Head
Head: dr Tomasz Niedziela
Dr Tomasz Niedziela is an associate professor at the Hirszfeld Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, and a researcher at the Laboratory of Microbial Immunochemistry and Vaccines. For over 20 years he has been deciphering the complex bacterial carbohydrate structures, analyzing and compiling the structural features with complementary immunological properties into a multidisciplinary description of the investigated bacterial antigens. He has been applying the structural glycomics to facilitate creation of a new generation of antibacterial vaccines and to improve the existing ones. For 3 years he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Chemistry, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden, investigating a new approach to analysis of complete bacterial carbohydrate antigens and acquiring skills in applications of NMR spectroscopy, including HR-MAS NMR and STD-NMR, as well as mass spectrometry for immunochemical analysis. His principal research focus is on the neoglycocojugate components of pertussis vaccines.
Research interests: immunochemistry, neoglycoconjugate vaccines, Bordetellae, NMR applications in structural glycomics.
Team
Assistant Professors:
- dr hab. Wojciech Jachymek
- dr Sabina Koj
- dr Karolina Ucieklak
Research methods
- high-sensitivity, high-resolution, non-destructive qualitative and quantitative analyses of wide range of biological and chemical samples using QCI Cryoprobe
- structural analysis of bacterial glycans and their interactions with immunologial system
- analyzes of the ligand-receptor interactions and epitope mapping (STD-NMR, WaterLOGSY)
- NMR measurements of molecular diffusion in solution (DOSY)
- HR-NMR measurements of tissue samples (biopsy samples) and analysis of bacterial antigens in situ, using suspensions of bacteria
Key equipment
Facility is equipped with a single Bruker NMR AVANCE III™ 600 MHz spectroscope, consisting of the 54 mm bore superconducting, actively shielded Ascend™ magnet operating at 14.095 Tesla. It is typically fitted with the QCI probe-head with the other probes installed as required. Available probes:
| Probe type: |
|
| CryoQCI |
An inverse quadruple high resolution Cryoprobe (1H,13C, 15N,31P); Z-gradient; integrated cooled preamplifiers for 1H, 13C i 2H-lock; automatic tuning&matching (ATM); measurements using ∅5 mm & ∅ 3 mm (salt tolerant) tubes |
| HR-MAS |
A dual inverse high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) probe 1H/13C, 2H-lock”; ∅ 4 mm (optimized for 1H observation); equipped with a single axis magic angle gradient; Maximum rotation frequency: 15 kHz |
| SmartProbe™ |
An observe broadband high resolution probe; Tunable in the 31P – 15N range , as well as 1H & 19F (with 1H decoupling); Z-gradient; automatic tuning&matching (ATM); ∅ 5 mm |
| microTXI |
An inverse triple resonance high resolution probe (1H, 13C/31P, 2H); Z-gradient; automatic tuning&matching (ATM); optimized for capillary tubes ∅ 1,7 mm |
Bruker Topspin 3.1pl6 software is used for acquisition and Topspin 3.5pl7 for processing and analysis.
