ALBA Synchrotron is a state-of-the-art facility comprising a complex of electron accelerators that produce synchrotron light, enabling high-resolution visualization of the atomic structure of matter and in-depth analysis of its properties. ALBA offers a diverse array of applications, particularly within the pharmaceutical sector.
The different instruments available at ALBA are crucial in advancing drug discovery, efficacy assessment, and formulation development through the following approaches:
• Drug Discovery: X-ray crystallography enables precise visualization of macromolecular structures, such as antibodies and protein-drug complexes, at the atomic level. This detailed structural information significantly accelerates drug design and optimization, surpassing the capabilities of traditional methods. On top of that, the Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) located at ALBA allow the study of biological molecules at near-atomic resolution complementing the information obtained by crystallography. This technique is ideal for studying complex protein-drug interactions and the structural biology of challenging targets, providing critical insights for drug discovery.
• Drug Efficacy: Soft X-ray cryo-tomography provides a novel, complementary approach for studying the cellular architecture at medium resolution (50-60 nm). This technique offers very relevant information into the effects of drug compounds on cellular structures, aiding in the evaluation of their efficacy.
• Drug Development: synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction is a key tool for characterizing active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) formulations and providing information of crystallinity, polymorphism, with low detection limits and high peak resolution.
• Nanoparticle Characterization: Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) is used to analyze the size, shape, and internal structure of nanoparticles, including drug delivery carriers. This technique is valuable for characterizing liposomes, polymeric nanopa
