Characterising how biomolecules interact is the task of the John Innes Centre Biophysical Analysis platform, which is unlocking molecular level understanding across disciplines.

Crucial biomolecular interactions are driven by forces within or between biomolecules, such as hydrogen bonding, the tendency of water-adverse (hydrophobic) particles to cluster in water, slow-moving or stationary electric charges, and changes in their configuration.

The platform turns these invisible molecular events into quantitative data, enabling insights into how biomolecules behave, interact, and respond to environmental conditions. This requires a range of complementary techniques:

• Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) measures the heat absorbed or released when biomolecules interact, giving insight into their affinity and the reaction rate
• Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) reveals the kinetics of a binding event in real time including: the rate at which molecules bind to each other forming a complex, how fast this complex decays, and their affinity
• Mass Photometry (MP) uses the way light scatters in a solution to measure the mass, number and ratio of biomolecules in a solution.
• Microscale Thermophoresis (MST) measures biomolecular interactions in their native solution environment, allowing researchers to determine binding affinities quickly and sensitively while using only small amounts of sample.

The breadth of information revealed supports a large spectrum of science at the institute and beyond – from helping dissect the way plants interact with microbes, pests, and pathogens to characterising novel molecules.

“What excites me most is our ability to turn hypotheses into data, revealing molecular behaviour behind complex biological phenomena. We empower researchers to ask deeper questions and get definitive answers,” said Dr Abbas Maqbool, Biophysical Analysis Platform Manager.

“A particular highlight has been our contribution to research from Professor Saskia Hogenhout’s lab that uncovered that SAP05, a protein that mediates targeted protein degradation, has an extraordinary structure made up of two surfaces, one of loops and one of helices, that do not overlap (known as bimodular architecture).

“This work opens new horizons for applications in biotechnology and biomedicine, as its novel structure could pave the way for innovative therapeutics.”

Professor Hogenhout credits her “collaboration with highly knowledgeable colleagues in the Biophysical Analysis and Structural Biology platforms at the institute” for this successful research.

Looking ahead, the platform team aim to expand into higher throughput workflows, automated sample handling, and additional techniques.

Dr Maqbool continued: “The evolution of the platform continues to energise me. We started out offering a few core services, and now provide a diversified, flexible biophysical toolkit.

“Alongside technique and instrumentation development, we have built a strong support infrastructure that provides training, experimental design advice, and data analysis support. This mirrors the trajectory of major biophysics cores globally, which emphasises support and service quality.

“Our expanding offer provides opportunities to strengthen collaborations, enabling us to become a hub for biomolecular interaction analysis across academia and industry.”

If your research involves molecular interactions, get in touch with the Biophysical Analysis platform for access, consultation, or collaboration: abbas.maqbool@jic.ac.uk

Over the past five years, more than £500,000 of investment has been secured to enhance and expand the platform’s capabilities, enabling cutting-edge research and strengthening support for both academic and industry users. Over the last year alone:

• Approximately 60 researchers used the platform, supporting over 50 research projects across the Norwich Research Park and beyond.
• The platform supported a wide range of users, including research groups, collaborative partners, and industry clients.
• Biophysical instrumentation was used for more than 2,500 hours.