Objective
"Determination of the atomic structure of large and complex macromolecules, indispensable for the understanding of the mechanisms of biological processes, is one of the most difficult problems in molecular biology. Examples of such structures include subcellular entities, giant protein and nucleic acid assemblies, molecular machines, fibrils, membrane proteins, as well as enveloped viruses and small bacteria. The standard tools for delivering structures at atomic resolution, X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, are overwhelmed by the complexity of such large assemblies, while cryo-electron microscopy, the highest resolution 3D microscopy used by structural biologists, is hindered by heterogeneity and moreover suffers from radiation damage and low contrast.
In this project we propose to develop and apply high-resolution MRI for the direct 3D imaging of macromolecules, comparable to electron microscopy in resolution, but without the need for averaging or staining, and with the unique contrast modalities well-known from clinical applications. Our approach is based on magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM), a scanning-probe variety of MRI that has recently enabled 3D imaging of individual virus particles at a spatial resolution of about 5 nm. Our effort will focus on two areas: In a first part we will lay the conceptual and instrumental groundwork needed to make this new technology applicable to biomolecules, including an improvement of the resolution to 1 nm, selective image contrast by stable-isotope labeling, and image reconstruction. In a second part we will apply MRFM to investigate four model systems carefully selected for their structural and biological relevance, including two Amyloid fibrils, a heat-shock protein, and modified virus capsids. The experiments are set to demonstrate the future potential of MRFM for elucidating the large number of disordered and heterogeneous complexes inaccessible to more established structure determination methods."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules nucleic acids
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy electron microscopy
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy absorption spectroscopy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-StG_20111109
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
8092 Zurich
Switzerland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.