Three Decades of Continuous Records for Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory (BCL)

The Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory (BCL)[bcl.ut.ac.ir] was established in 1986 at Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran as a first biophysical chemistry laboratory in Iran. The main scientific career of BCL has been mostly marked on thermodynamics of protein denaturation especially by surfactants, protein folding/unfolding, protein glycation, artificial enzyme and bioactive peptides. Protein denaturation is a key technique to obtain the stability of protein in solution and understanding the protein function-structure relationship. The terminology of “hydrophobic salts” is theoretically documented in the literature for surfactants at low concentrations upon interaction with protein in BCL for the first time and also extensively involved on biophysics of molecular diabetes on the area of protein glycation. Various physical techniques such as: isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), UV-Vis and fluorescence spectrophotometries, circular dichorism, densimetry, viscometry, tensiometry, temperature scanning spectrophotometer, cyclic voltametry, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, electrophoresis systems and computer facilities have been applied for aforementioned research works. It has also access to equilibrium dialysis technique and macromolecular interactions theories as well as chemical and biochemical procedures if required. Researchers at BCL have published numerous books in Persian language and also articles in prestigious international journals and also have received numerous awards at national and international levels. Due to mentioned activities, constituted Center of Excellence in Biothermodynamics, UNESCO Chair on Interdisciplinary Research in Diabetes is linked with BCL. This recollection, provides a review of the thirty years activity of biophysical chemistry laboratory.