Electron Bio-Imaging Centre

electron Bio-Imaging Centre
eBIC
Established2018 (2018)
Field of research
Structural Biology
DirectorPeijun Zhang
Staff49[1]
LocationDidcot, United Kingdom
51°34′22″N 1°18′44″W / 51.572688°N 1.312187°W / 51.572688; -1.312187
CampusHarwell Science and Innovation Campus
AffiliationsBirkbeck College
Oxford University
Diamond Light Source
Websitewww.diamond.ac.uk/Instruments/Biological-Cryo-Imaging/eBIC.html

The electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC) is a national facility in the United Kingdom that houses equipment and specialists for structural biology using Cryogenic electron microscopy.

History

Opening in 2018[2], eBIC was established at Diamond Light Source in collaboration with Birkbeck College, Oxford University and Thermo Fisher[3][4] via a £15.6 million grant from the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council[5][6].

Activities

The Electron Bio Imaging Centre supports Single particle analysis, Cryogenic electron tomography, and Microcrystal electron diffraction[7][8].

eBIC's imaging facilities have contibuted to vaccine development, including the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine[9] and a polio vaccine using virus-like particles[10] Additionally, their microscopes were used for determining structures of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein[9].

The facility also operates an 'eBIC for Industry' centre for industrial users to access specific equipment and expertise, training, or mail-in or full service Single particle structure determination.[11][12]

Research at eBIC includes electron ptychography[13], FIB-SEM for Cryogenic electron tomography[8], and automated collection and data processing[14][15].

References

  1. ↑ "People". eBIC. Diamond. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Harwell Strengthens UK's life science capabilities with world's largest Cryo-EM facility". Harwell Campus. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Harrison, Andrew (4 March 2015). "X-ray Nanoprobe Beamline and Pioneering Electron Microscopy Facility Come into Focus". Synchrotron Radiation News. 28 (2): 56–57. Bibcode:2015SRNew..28...56H. doi:10.1080/08940886.2015.1013425.
  4. ↑ "Diamond reveals Thermo Fisher cryo-TEMs". Analytical Science. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "eBIC: The UK National Cryo-EM Facility". Diamond Light Source. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Martino, Luigi; Mercier, Marion (19 December 204). "Unblocking barriers to progress in bioimaging". Wellcome. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Fiorini, Giorgia; Schertler, Gebhard F.X.; Panneels, Valérie (May 2026). "Advances of 3D microcrystals electron diffraction for transmembrane protein structure determination". Biophysical Journal. 125 (10): 2215–2225. Bibcode:2026BpJ...125.2215F. doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2025.10.027. PMID 41137388.
  8. 1 2 Clare, Daniel K.; Siebert, C. Alistair; Hecksel, Corey; Hagen, Christoph; Mordhorst, Valerie; Grange, Michael; Ashton, Alun W.; Walsh, Martin A.; Grünewald, Kay; Saibil, Helen R.; Stuart, David I.; Zhang, Peijun (1 June 2017). "Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC): the UK national research facility for biological electron microscopy". Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology. 73 (6): 488–495. Bibcode:2017AcCrD..73..488C. doi:10.1107/S2059798317007756. PMC 5458490. PMID 28580910.
  9. 1 2 Zhang, Peijun (28 May 2025). "How structural imaging is revolutionising vaccines". The Microbiologists. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Gallagher, James (15 August 2017). "Plants 'hijacked' to make polio vaccine". BBC. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Sader, Kasim; Matadeen, Rishi; Castro Hartmann, Pablo; Halsan, Tor; Schlichten, Chris (1 April 2020). "Industrial cryo-EM facility setup and management". Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology. 76 (4): 313–325. Bibcode:2020AcCrD..76..313S. doi:10.1107/S2059798320002223. PMC 7137108. PMID 32254055.
  12. ↑ "eBIC for Industry" (PDF). eBIC. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Zhou, Liqi; Song, Jingdong; Kim, Judy S.; Pei, Xudong; Huang, Chen; Boyce, Mark; Mendonça, Luiza; Clare, Daniel; Siebert, Alistair; Allen, Christopher S.; Liberti, Emanuela; Stuart, David; Pan, Xiaoqing; Nellist, Peter D.; Zhang, Peijun; Kirkland, Angus I.; Wang, Peng (2 June 2020). "Low-dose phase retrieval of biological specimens using cryo-electron ptychography". Nature Communications. 11 (1) 2773. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.2773Z. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16391-6. PMC 7265480. PMID 32487987.
  14. ↑ Horstmann, Anna; Riggs, Stephen; Chaban, Yuriy; Clare, Daniel K.; de Freitas, Guilherme; Farmer, David; Howe, Andrew; Morris, Kyle L.; Hatton, Daniel (1 March 2024). "A service-based approach to cryoEM facility processing pipelines at eBIC". Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology. 80 (3): 174–180. Bibcode:2024AcCrD..80..174H. doi:10.1107/S2059798324000986. PMC 10910546. PMID 38376453.
  15. ↑ Gómez-Blanco, J; de la Rosa-Trevín, JM; Marabini, R; Del Cano, L; Jiménez, A; Martínez, M; Melero, R; Majtner, T; Maluenda, D; Mota, J; Rancel, Y; Ramírez-Aportela, E; Vilas, JL; Carroni, M; Fleischmann, S; Lindahl, E; Ashton, AW; Basham, M; Clare, DK; Savage, K; Siebert, CA; Sharov, GG; Sorzano, COS; Conesa, P; Carazo, JM (December 2018). "Using Scipion for stream image processing at Cryo-EM facilities". Journal of Structural Biology. 204 (3): 457–463. doi:10.1016/j.jsb.2018.10.001. PMC 6303188. PMID 30296492.
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