DKTK Core Facilities: Molecular Structure

Cancer Structural Biology (NMR and X-ray) Core Facility Frankfurt

For the efficient development of novel drugs and therapies the understanding of biological processes and mechanisms at molecular level is of utmost importance. Therefore, the 3D structure determination of proteins, DNA, RNA and their complexes is essential for Drug Development to gain molecular insight into the function and dynamic of drugs with their interaction partners in cancer patients.

The DKTK partner site in Frankfurt/Mainz highlights a Cancer Structural Biology Platform with the Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance Centre (BMRZ), one of the leading centers of NMR-based structural biology in the world.

In the near future the BMRZ will be equipped with a 1.2 Gigahertz spectrometer, which will enable BMRZ (equipped with 14 high-field liquid-state NMR spectrometers (up to 950 MHz), two high-field widebore solid-state NMR spectrometers (850 and 600 MHz), a liquid-state and a solid-state NMR DNP setup) to maintain and expand its leading position as research facility for structure and dynamics of biomedically relevant macromolecules.
In addition Frankfurt hosts a leading key expertise in the development of drugs for protein kinases as well as on the research fields autophagy and epigenetic via structure-based drug design (NMR und X-ray).