Research Area E

Methods for Studying Macromolecular Complexes

CEF invested substantial resources into the access to new methods for the analysis of macromolecular complexes. The range of technologies on Riedberg Campus now includes advanced light microscopy, electron microscopy, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, time-resolved optical and IR-spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. They encompass spatial scales from atomic to organismal, concentrations from attomolar to molar, energies from neV to MeV, and time scales from femtoseconds to seconds. CEF scientists also studied single molecules and worked with three-dimensional cultures as well as whole organisms and small tissue sections. Methods were integrated that provided different scales in terms of energy, spatial and temporal resolution. Collaborations between physics, chemistry, mathematics, bioinformatics and the life sciences were fostered.

Time and length scales of the spectroscopic and microscopic techniques available in CEF
for the investigation of structures and dynamics of macromolecular complexes