The Biochemistry Department houses a wide array of instruments that are managed and maintained by skilled professionals. In addition, there is a large network of shared instruments and core facilities from across the university.

See the Research and Innovation Office's Shared Instrumentation Network for a full list of campus resources.

Department Facilities

mass spectrometry

Central Analytical Mass Spectrometry Lab

The Central Analytical Laboratory offers analytical and instructional expertise in mass spectrometric techniques and instrumentation. We offer a wide selection of mass spectral services to the research community within the university system and at-large with the aim of providing scientists with practical training and access to the state-of-the-art instrumentation they need to develop and meet their research interests. The mass spectrometry lab is located in the basement floor of the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building, room C1B90.  The lab director is Thomas Lee. 

homoginizer from Avestin for cell rupture

Shared Instrument Core

The instrument core gives researchers of the CU community and from outside the university access to a multitude of state of the art instruments and techniques including EPR, CD and fluorescence spectroscopy, DLS, Sec-MALS and ITC. In addition it houses a variety of additional equipment, such as imaging systems, centrifuges, scintillation counter, sonicator and more.   Dr. Annette Erbse is the Director of the core.

cell culture

Cell Culture Facility

The BL-2 certified cell culture facility in JSCBB is shared by all Biochemistry investigators and is equipped with twelve containment hoods. Six of these are for general use, two hoods are specific for primary cell culture work and two are located in a separate room for use with virus. In addition, there is a horizontal, laminar flow hood for use with large volume cultures and a restricted hood for Salmonella invasion studies of mammalian cells. There are thirteen CO2 incubators as well as an incubator and shaker for working with insect cell cultures. The facility has the ability to do experiments requiring hypoxic conditions. It also has two automated liquid nitrogen storage units and an inverted microscope with both light and fluorescence sources. The facility is supervised by Theresa Nahreini, who trains all users in sterile techniques and oversees daily operations of media preparation, mycoplasma testing and maintenance of cell lines.

Cell Sorter Facs Aria Fusion

Flow Cytometry Cell Sorter

A Cytomation flow cytometer/cell sorter, and a Benton Dickinson FACScan Cytometer with FACScan software for data collection and analysis are located in the Cristol Building, and are maintained by Dr. Xuedong Liu.

xray crystallography graphic

Biomolecular X-ray Crystallography

The macromolecular x-ray facility has a Phoenix dropsetter for crystallization, a RockImager system for crystal imaging, and two Rigaku R-axis IV++ image plate systems for diffraction screening/data collection. One image plate is interfaced to a RuH2R rotating anode generator, and the other, to an Incoatec sealed tube microfocus generator. Individuals wishing to use the facility should contact the lab manager, Annette Erbse.

High-Resolution solution phase NMR with full Automation

NMR Spectroscopy

The NMR Facilities at the University of Colorado - Boulder maintain a variety of state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers at a variety of magnetic fields to support the wide variety of research needs of the entire University. The NMR spectrometers available for hands-on use are located in Room 02 in the Cristol Chemistry Building. The facility is managed by NMR Facility Director, Dr. Bimala Lama

W. M. Keck High Field 800 MHz NMR Facility

Macromolecular NMR Facility

The Macromolecular NMR Facility is composed of two distinct facilities that contain state-of-the-art instrumentation. One facility, housed in Cristol, contains two 500 MHz and one 600 MHz Varian Inova NMR spectrometers with a cryogenic probe on the 600 MHz instrument. 

Titan Krios Microscope

BioKEM - Krios Electron Microscopy

The University of Colorado Boulder Biochemistry Department's Krios Electron Microscopy facility (BioKEM) offers single particle cryo-EM and cryo tomography of plunge-frozen samples. Our Titan Krios G3i (funded by HHMI) is available on a per-fee basis for high resolution data collection on a Gatan K3 Direct Detection Camera, and offers expert technical support at all levels. The BioKEM facility is using Serial EM for SPA and cryo-ET data acquisition.