Molecular-scale biophysics is a dynamic interdisciplinary field that aims to study biological macromolecules and assemblies as a whole, at an intermediate level between atomic-resolution structural descriptions and cellular-level observations with significant applications in biomedicine and drug discovery. There has been established numerous biophysical core facilities and other laboratories enabling users of various background to use the advanced instrumentation. Since the development of science is enormous over last decades, the collaboration and sharing of know how between such facilities is necessary in order to keep and develop the state of the art technologies.
In 2014, the ARBRE-MOBIEU network was initiated, aiming to seed a large-scale pan-European interdisciplinary clustering, allowing to ally and synergize the power of spectroscopic, hydrodynamic, real-time microfluidic, thermodynamic and single-molecule approaches [1]. In its early years, the network was supported by a European COST action, resulting in involvement of several dozens of laboratories throughout Europe. In 2021, based on the established contacts and collaborations, the initiative has been turned into a scientific society ARBRE (Association of Resources for Biophysical Research in Europe).
The main objectives of the society are to: i) create an optimal environment for the development of innovative integrative biophysical approaches; ii) disseminate knowledge, e.g. through the organization of workshops and training schools; iii) facilitate the transnational access to instrumentation and expertise for a wide user community; iv) provide a platform for scientists to establish early contacts with instrument developers. The users can already benefit from several outcomes, such as development of standards for interaction techniques [2], establishing of standard operating procedures (SOP’s) [3] or formulating recommendations for protein quality control [4] and stability assessment [5].
Those interested in the association activities can visit the web pages www.arbre-biophysics.eu for more information or contact its representatives directly.