Recent developments and applications of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs)

X-ray crystallography is a very powerful technique for determining atomic resolution structures of molecules of any size. It is used by researchers from a variety of disciplines, and to celebrate completion of hundred years since discovery, the year 2014 is declared by UN as the International Year of Crystallography. Advances in technology over hundred years have increased the power of the method by providing megafacilities like synchrotrons, microfocus beamlines and x-ray free electron lasers, which can be also operated through remote access across continents. In the field of structural biology, we at BARC, have remotely used synchrotrons in the study of structure-function relationships for two enzymes: 1) alkaline phosphatase used for bioprecipitation of uranium, and 2) HIV-1 protease targeted for design of drugs against AIDS. We discovered a new class of alkaline phosphatase when we determined the structure by using the MAD method to solve the phase problem. In the case of HIV-1 protease, our studies on structural mapping of enzyme- substrate complexes at different stages of the reaction are very unique. We have investigated the mechanisms of drug-resistance by determining structures of drug-resistant mutant enzymes complexed with the drugs. Details will be presented.

About Dr. Madhusoodan Hosur:

Dr. Madhusoodan Hosur did his M.Sc.from Karnatak University and Ph. D. from Indian Institute of Science. He was a Post-doctoral fellow at University of Wisconsin as well as Purdue University and was a Visiting Scientist at the National Cancer Institute, USA. Dr. Hosur was a Wenner Gren Fellow at the Lund University and a CIPLA Distinguished Biotechnologist. He was the Co-chairman of the IUCr conference, Madrid (2010) and is a member of the Expert Committee on Synchrotron, constituted by Planning Commission. Dr. Hosur was awarded the Martin Forster Gold medal for his Ph. D. Thesis and won BARC/DAE Group achievement award in 2012. He is a Fellow of INSA.