The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has announced that the researchers in the country would soon have access to four Cryogenic-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) facilities paving the way towards establishment of leadership in structural biology, enzymology, and drug discovery to combat new and emerging diseases.

The National Facilities supported by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), under the DST, would help explore Macromolecular Structures and Complexes and create research knowledge base and skills for Cryo-EM research in India.

The establishment of these facilities in all directions of the country--Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, Bombay, Kanpur; and Bose Institute, Kolkata would help in scaling up cryo-EM based structural biology research in different corners across the country. These centers are designated as SERB National Facility for Cryo-Electron Microscopy and will work on the identified thrust areas. They will be accessible to all researchers.

Housed with 200kv machines have added advantages like lesser maintenance and can help generate human resources through training, which can also help sustain the facility for longer duration. Each Cryo-EM facility costs about Rs. 28.5 crore for a period of five years and an amount of Rs. 114 crore for research in the critically important research areas, said the statement issued by the DST.

While IIT Chennai will focus on nano-biointerfaces (e.g.materials–microbes, materials–human tissue), IIT Bombay will execute research on ribosome translation and its implication in disease and antibiotic resistance, neurodegenerative disorders and tackle problems to address solutions to cancer, membrane structure, composition, dynamics & transport. IIT Kanpur will conduct research focused on macromolecular structures and drug discovery with a specific focus on membrane proteins, and Bose Institute, Kolkata will focus on transforming the structure-guided drug discovery and therapeutics research for communicable and non-communicable diseases, allosteric drugs, transcription, and epigenetics.