LP3 Annual Report 2025

The “new” LP3 was created as a center in June 2016 by the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Medicine and LTH by combining the “old” LP3, specialised in protein production, with LU’s protein crystallisation facility. As part of the research infrastructure Protein Production Sweden (PPS, external website) since 2022, parts of LP3 are hosting and staffing the PPS Lund University node. In 2024, The Vice-Chancellor of LU named three of the university’s large research infrastructures as University Platforms including LP3. The designation signals that such research infrastructure has a high strategic significance for the entire university. 

LP3’s part in PPS is described in the PPS annual report to the Swedish research council. This report here will mainly focus on LP3 activities outside of PPS and try to highlight LP3’s local role for Lund University.
Outside PPS, LP3 continued to offer crystallisation and protein crystal screening at the BioMAX beamline at MAX IV laboratory to its users. This enables non-experts in protein crystallography to use X-ray crystallography at MAX IV and pursue structure determination, as well as LP3 continued to offer services within biophysical characterisation of proteins and now develops competence in Cryo-EM in collaboration with the LU Cryo-EM facility. LP3 continued the support to the DEMAX platform of ESS and the FragMAX platform of MAX IV and LP3 is associated with the SciLifeLab Lund node as a local research infrastructure.

LP3 staff were involved in teaching, as well as national and international conferences and networks of interest. 
In general, both within and outside PPS, LP3 continued in 2025 to deliver projects to its users at the maximum of its capacities.

Wolfgang Knecht
Manager, LP3
April 2026

Introduction

Lund Protein Production Platform (LP3) is a center at Lund University (LU) that offers services and equipment in the areas of recombinant protein production, protein crystallisation, biophysical characterisation, and structure determination as illustrated in Figure 1. 

The center was established by the Faculties of Science (FoS), Medicine (FoM) and Engineering (LTH) in 2016 (STYR 2023/2145). LP3 serves as the LU node of the distributed national research infrastructure Protein Production Sweden (PPS, external website) since 2022 and collaborates with the MAX IV laboratory X-ray-aided fragment screening platform (FragMAX)  that was established by a Swedish research council (VR) grant with LP3 as co-applicant since 2019. In 2024, The Vice-Chancellor of LU named three of the university’s large research infrastructures as University Platforms including LP3. The designation signals that such research infrastructure has a high strategic significance for the entire university. Starting in 2025, LP3 also contributed to the Horizon-RIA project VIGILANT.

LP3 provides labs and services for and collaborates with the Deuteration and Macromolecular Crystallisation platform (DEMAX) , of the European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS), currently as a Swedish in kind contribution to ESS. The labs managed by LP3 serve as a meeting point for all these platforms. LP3 has staff equivalent to 5.8 full-time employees and in 2025 had an additional 8-month temporary position. Of this workforce roughly 50 % support the operations of the LU node of PPS (also referred to as LP3-PPS), 10 % support VIGILANT, 10 % deliver the Swedish in-kind contributions to ESS and 30 % support crystallisation and structure determination operations of LP3, as well as all other local support. Both FragMAX and DEMAX also have their own staff placed in the labs provided by LP3. Those parts outside LP3-PPS are also in summary referred to as LP3-local. Just LP3 means in the following parts LP3-PPS and LP3-local.

LP3 is associated as a local research infrastructure with the Lund SciLifeLab node and as a LU infrastructure of national importance, as well as listed in Lucris by LU as such. Additionally, LP3 is part of LU thematic collaboration initiative: Pandemics and Alertness.

LP3’s mission (STYR 2023/2145) is to: 

• offer open service and support, primarily to researchers at LU, with protein production, characterisation and crystallisation for their research projects.
• be responsible for a common and open infrastructure for protein production and crystallisation, as well as to contribute actively to the interaction of LU with MAX IV, ESS and other relevant major research facilities, networks and initiatives.
• act as Lund University's node for the national research infrastructure PPS
• develop competence and methods in the area of protein sciences.
• serve the surrounding community (e.g. closely located large infrastructures, small biotech etc.).

User access is given on a first-come basis and technical feasibility. In 2025, LP3 services were fully subscripted, yet sufficient to meet the demand with limited waiting times for users within LP3-local. Within LP3-PPS project applications had to be selected according to PPS procedures due to a demand beyond capacity and consequently project applications denied. Furthermore, work requests, filling up all available capacity, are divided into smaller parts or rejected in order not to delay delivery times unproportionally for many other users. In general, at LP3-local, LU researchers and LP3-local’s commitments to VIGILANT and DEMAX (ESS) are prioritised while for LP3-PPS this is obviously not the case and in case of lacking capacity at PPS, scientific quality of the project application is assessed for prioritisation by the management group of PPS.

Organisation

LP3 was run in 2025 by a manager (50 % FTE, senior lecturer) and 5 research engineers. In 2025, the staffing also included a 8-month temporary research engineer position, 2 experts (10 %) in microbial protein production and crystallisation as well as hosting Dr. Z. Fisher (Head of DEMAX (ESS) , assoc. lecturer at LU with 20 %). 
4 visitors were associated with LP3 in 2025, not counting the staffing of the FragMAX project or DEMAX staff. Additionally, LP3-local and the wet-labs of FragMAX facility have a lot of users (e.g. in 2025 28 users) coming to LP3’s labs to use certain equipment themselves or doing short experiments on one or several occasions.

LP3 is fully equipped for protein production in E. coli and insect cells (Baculovirus Expression Vector System, BEVS). This includes flow hoods for sterile handling of cells, temperature-controlled shakers for culturing of cells (including access to temperature-controlled rooms), centrifuges, cell homogenisation equipment (e.g., French Press and sonicators). A bioreactor for up to 2 L working volume was established during 2025. For purification there are several chromatography systems, including one ÄKTA Avant and two ÄKTA Pure Systems and an ÄKTA Flux for diafiltration. Equipment for SDS PAGE, Western blotting and other standard equipment for protein characterisation and enzymatic activity assays is available at the center or within close proximity. All documentation is captured using electronic lab notebooks. For crystallisation the facility is equipped with state-of-the-art nanolitre pipetting equipment with the capability to handle lipidic cubic phases for membrane proteins, as well as a “plate hotels” with the capacity to store and automatically image plates. Tecan and a TTP (Dragonfly) liquid handling systems for the preparation of crystallisation screens are also available. For characterisation of proteins LP3 can provide differential scanning fluorimetry (nanoDSF), dynamic light scattering system (DLS) and a size exclusion chromatography (SEC) system (with integrated multi-detector module) for the measurement of absolute molecular weight, molecular size and sample composition (OMNISEC). A new nanolitre pipetting robot and a Monolith X for microscale thermophoresis (MST) and spectral shift (SPS) technologies to characterise molecular interactions in solution were procured in 2025.
For more specifics on the capabilities and services of LP3 please see our website:www.lp3.lu.se

Placement of the infrastructure

LP3 is placed at the Biology Department (Biology Building A, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund), within the Faculty of Science (FoS) at LU. LP3 is a separate entity within the existing administrative structure of the Department of Biology and follows the working and delegation principles of the FoS.

Leadership of the infrastructure

LP3 is governed by a board of one chairman (Prof. Susanna Horsefield) and 6 members (Prof. Ingemar André, Dr. Kajsa Paulsson, Prof. Mats Ohlin, Dr. Kajsa Sigfridsson Clauss, Dr. Sindra Petersson Årsköld), one each from Faculty of Science (FoS), Faculty of Medicine (FoM), LTH, MAX IV laboratory and ESS (external member) and one student (vacant during 2025). The daily business of the center is led by a manager (50 % FTE) (Dr. Wolfgang Knecht). The manager is supported in his function by additional experts (10 % FTE) (Currently Dr. Claes von Wachenfeldt (microbiological protein production and deputy manager LP3) and Prof. Derek Logan (crystallisation and structural biology).

PPS – Summary from the annual report 2025

Protein Production Sweden (PPS) has in its fourth year consolidated its position as a national infrastructure. Project applications are entered through the common web application form into our project database and are then discussed in the management group and distributed to the different labs. In this fourth year, 149 PIs applied for 235 different projects. This is a slightly smaller increase than from 2023 to 2024, perhaps indicating that we have reached most of the community interested in getting protein produced. Nevertheless, this shows a continued high demand for recombinant proteins from the Swedish scientific community. During 2025, 205 projects were completed, resulting in the delivery of 472 protein batches (27 % increase compared to 2024). Our infrastructure has clearly gained momentum, but the high demand and increased delivery rate brings us to the edge of our capacities. To continue spreading the information about PPS among Swedish researchers, we have presented our capabilities at different conferences and meetings on 24 different occasions. In August 2025, PPS organised the yearly P4EU meeting for the European network of protein production facilities in Gothenburg, with 120 participants. PPS received again very favorable user survey results. We have continued the implementation of the earlier decided consensus quality analyses of our proteins. Moreover, we have continued our work on several activities to develop our services.

The fourth annual PPS staff retreat was held in Lund in September 2025 organised by LP3.

Details about LP3s part in PPS can be found in the PPS annual report to VR (external website).

FragMAX (BioMAX Fragment Screening platform)

The FragMAX platform of MAX IV is a Swedish Research Council financed project, with LP3, AstraZeneca AB and Saromics Biostructures AB as co-applicants. LP3 continues to collaborate with the platform.

Deuteration and Macromolecular Crystallisation (DEMAX)

The DEMAX platform of the European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS) is co-localised with LP3 since 2016. In 2025, the underlying agreement for this was renewed for the period 2026-2029. In September 2025, the crystallisation activities of DEMAX were moved to the NMX beamline, while the bio-deuteration activities remain with LP3.
DEMAX and LP3 are collaborating to coordinate their efforts to develop cost-effective production of deuterated biomaterials (lipids and proteins) for neutron-based methods such as protein crystallography, neutron reflectometry, and small angle neutron scattering.

Dr. Knecht on behalf of LP3 applied within the first VR call for in-kind contributions to ESS for providing deuteration lab services. This proposal was accepted by VR and ESS. LP3 is thereby among the very first Swedish in-kind contributions to ESS.

Long term strategy

The full-length strategic plan for LP3 can be found in the annual LP3 report 2021 and the strategic plan for PPS can be found on the PPS webpage (external website). These strategic documents (LP3 and PPS) do govern the long-term strategic work, as well as the short-term plans that are formulated in the respective operational plans for PPS and LP3 for each year established by the respective steering committees. 

In short, LP3 has the ambition within PPS (LP3-PPS) to become and remain a) Preferred supplier of (per)deuterated biomolecules for neutron scattering experiments b) Preferred supplier of specialty protein reagents for X-ray crystallography c) Preferred supplier of protein expression in insect cells with the Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS). This aligns with the overall long-term strategy aim of PPS: “PPS shall become and remain the preferred provider of proteins for research purposes for Swedish researchers from academia, public sector and commercial entities”. Outside of PPS (LP3-local), LP3s strategic plan points towards protein characterisation, protein structure determination for non-experts (non-crystallographers) and to support the FragMAX at MAX IV and the DEMAX platform of ESS. This aligns well with the strategic LU goal “The potential of MAX IV and ESS is to be fully exploited”. With respect to the just mentioned LU goal, it can also be noted that a theme application to LINXS (external website) with LP3 participation was successful in 2025 and will start in 2026.

With the establishment of the LU Cryo-EM facility, LP3 has also started to develop competencies within Cryo-EM and in collaboration with the LU Cryo-EM facility. Two research engineers were trained in late 2025 at the Cryo-EM facility. LP3 thereby follows the recommendations for additional future activities, both given during its 5-year evaluation and the evaluation that led to LP3 becoming a LU platform.

Finally, VR granted PPS a prolongation 2027 – 2030. For this period, also a new PPS strategy will be formulated for this period, and it is expected that LP3 will also reformulate its long-term strategy in connection with this.  

Services

LP3 offers services for the entire process chain of production, purification, characterisation, protein crystallisation and protein structure determination and structure refinement or each individual step in the chain (Figure 1).

For details of current services and updates, please see LP3 homepage.

Users and projects

Some overall user statistics will be reported here. LP3-PPS part within PPS is described in the annual PPS report to VR. LP3-local’s activities outside PPS, will be described in more detail in this report below. 

Overall

61 groups used LP3 in 2025 both through PPS and as a local infrastructure. Of these, 33 principal investigators came from LU and 28 were external. The distribution to different faculties and external users is presented in Figure 2. The development of user groups in numbers at LP3 since 2016 is shown in Figure 3. The principal investigators in the external user group come from the ESS, other Swedish and international universities (for example in 2025: SU, GU, KI, KTH, SLU, LinU, UU, Malmö, Universities in Marburg (Germany), Turku (Estonia), Helsinki (Finland), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Heidelberg (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Aarhus (Denmark) and the College de France (France), UCL (UK) and industry/biotech (in 2025: four companies).

Figure 4 presents the total distribution of 180 unique users at LP3 in the timeframe of 2016 - 2025. Compared to 2024 when this number was 161, this is an increase of 19 unique new users.

The distribution of users between LP3-PPS and LP3-local (all LP3 activities like crystallisation, structure determination, biophysics, local support (e.g. for protein production of previous LP3 projects)) is shown in Figure 5 for 2022 to 2025. Here, the external users are separated into other Swedish universities, international academics and other users (e.g. from industry, public sector and infrastructures like ESS ERIC).

Not included in the numbers above are the “indirect” users that LP3-local served due to supporting all FragMAX campaigns and delivering “Deuteration Lab Services” (DLS) as Swedish in kind contribution to DEMAX (ESS). 

LP3-local

In the two areas crystallisation and biophysics, LP3-local, had 32 user groups. A total of 61 crystallisation plates were processed in 2025. LP3-local had 8 projects with the aim of structure X-ray crystallography managed by LP3-local for non-expert users.

The distribution of user groups in crystallisation and biophysics and the development of the number of user groups since 2016 are shown in Figures 6 and 7. 

19 of the user groups above also used LP3 or PPS for protein production in 2025. In 2025, 16 user groups (5 FoS, 1 FoM, 2 LTH, 1 MAX IV, 7 Extern) used other support by LP3-local ranging from production of biomass, production of new batches in previous LP3 projects to technical assistance with Western blotting and production of reagents for undergraduate teaching.

The number of crystallisation plates is presented in Figure 8, separated after projects that LP3 runs on behalf of users (non-experts in structural biology), FragMAX projects and projects at which the user sets up the plates themselves.

Crystal screening at the BioMAX Beamline

In 2025, 89 crystals from 3 projects were sent by LP3 staff to BioMAX on 5 occasions. 1 of these projects were managed by LP3 for non-expert users and resulted in 73 crystals, 50 datasets, and 2 resolved structures. For the other 2 projects with crystals, LP3 helped expert users to fish 16 crystals to be measured at the BioMAX beamline that resulted in 15 datasets. LP3 also managed 7 more crystallisation projects for non-experts users that did not yield measurable crystals, yet.

DEMAX projects

For DEMAX, LP3-local delivered in all 3 areas of the DLS agreed services:

• Development of methods for the production of protinated and deuterated yeast cell paste suitable for lipid extraction.
• Development of production of deuterated biomass and/or proteins and/or DNA.
• Support for neutron protein crystallography

Additional in 2025, the new bioreactor went operational.

Visibility, access, outreach

LP3 presents its services, capabilities and new developments through Lund University-based homepages (www.lp3.lu.se) and the LUCRIS infrastructure pages, as well as at meetings (see below).

LP3 is featured in EUGLOHRIA Talks and EUGLOHRIA Virtual Tours approaching audiences with interactive and innovative content strengthening the collaboration potential by featuring model core facilities. LP3 was identified as one of those infrastructures available to the Alliance. On the EUGLOHRIA Talks homepage, an interview with LP3’s head (external website), Dr. Wolfgang Knecht, can be found, and it is possible to take a virtual tour of LP3 on the EUGLOHRIA Virtual Tours website.

LP3 participates in relevant national and international networks and societies, (e.g., Protein Production and Purification Partnership in Europe (P4EU) (external website) and Core Technologies for Life Sciences (CTLS) (external website). Since 2019, LP3 is one of the LU infrastructures affiliated with EATRIS ERIC (European infrastructure for translational medicine (external website) in their small molecule platform. LP3 is also a member of the Deuteration Network DeuNet (external website).

A theme application LINXS with LP3 participation was successful in 2025 and will start in 2026.

Above, engagements are for dissemination of LP3’s work as well as for the exchange and adoption of new methods and ideas into LP3.

As nearly every year, LP3 staff  was contributing to undergraduate education.

Presentations of LP3 and/or PPS by LP3 staff were provided on the following occasions in 2025:

Poster presentations

LP3 and PPS

1.   MAX IV User Days, Lund, January 2025
2.   Lund spring symposium, May 2025
3.   LINXS-Loop opening, Lund, June 2025
4.   28th Swedish Conference on Macromolecular Structure and Function, Tällberg, June 2025
5.   ICNS-Copenhagen, August 2025
6.   SciLifeLab Lund Day, October 2026

Attendance

LP3 and PPS

1. P4EU 21th Meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden, August 2025 (GU and LU platforms of PPS organised this meeting)

Results and/or proteins produced at the facility were used in the following 2025 publications (in the time 2016 – 2025, the total number of publications has thereby reached 143):

Publications

1. A. Bennig, I., Ströbaek, J., Mamede, R., Neumann, A., Friães, A., Ramirez, M., Hall, M., Collin, M., Malmström, L., Ekström, S. et al. (2025) Streptococcus pyogenes nuclease A interferes with host complement functions. bioRxiv, 2025.2008.2025.672074.
2. Ali-Ahmad, A., Mors, M., Carrer, M., Li, X., Bilokapić, S., Halić, M., Cascella, M. and Sekulić, N. (2025) Non-nucleosomal (CENP-A/H4)2 - DNA complexes as a possible platform for centromere organization. bioRxiv, 2024.2012.2031.630874.
3. Anwar, M.M., Meseguer, S., García-Rodríguez, N., Krupinska, E., Sele, C., Rodríguez-Jiménez, A., Verma, S., Sagadevan, S., Ramon, J., Martí, R. et al. (2025) NK-A 17E-233I: a novel competitive inhibitor of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) for cancer therapy. Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, 44, 292.
4. Dahlqvist, A., Go, R.M., Kishor, C., Leffler, H., Blanchard, H. and Nilsson, U.J. (2025) Synergy of triazolyl substituents at C1 and C3 of galactose for high-affinity and selective galectin-4C inhibition. RSC Chemical Biology, 6, 1437-1450.
5. Ebenwaldner, C., García Saura, A.G., Ekström, S., Bernfur, K., Moche, M., Logan, D.T., Cohen, M.S. and Schüler, H. (2025) Regulation of ADP-ribosyltransferase activity by ART domain dimerization in PARP15. Nature communications, 16, 9567.
6. Essén, M., Franciskovic, E., Sele, C., Godzwon, M. and Ohlin, M. (2025) Low nanomolar affinity to major grass pollen allergen Phl p 5 as achieved in an unmutated human antibody-lineage ancestor. Frontiers in Immunology, Volume 16 - 2025.
7. Gulkis, M.C., Hodgkinson, J.T., Sele, C.P., Knecht, W., McKenna, R. and Fisher, S.Z. (2025) Off-target binding of the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat to carbonic anhydrase II and IX. Acta Crystallographica Section F, 81, 388-397.
8. Gulyás, K.V., Zhou, L., Salamonsen, D., Prester, A., Bartels, K., Bosman, R., Haffke, P., Li, J., Tamási, V., Deufel, F. et al. (2025) Dynamically chiral phosphonic acid-type metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors. Commun Chem, 8, 119.
9. Kanchugal P., S., Jagudin, E., Lima, G.M.A., Talibov, V.O., Begum, A., Nan, J., Eguiraun, M., Gonzalez, A., Sele, C., Nyblom, M. et al. (2025) FragMAX Facility for Crystallographic Fragment and Ligand Screening at MAX IV. Applied Research, 4, e202400263.
10. Kozielski, F., Fisher, S.Z., Ma, S., Al Busaidi, F., Krupinska, E., Nyblom, M., Sele, C., Sullivan, H.M., Krojer, T. and Knecht, W. (2025) Structural basis for small molecule binding to the SARS-CoV-2 nsp10–nsp14 ExoN complex. Nucleic Acids Research, 53.
11. Purić, E., Hassan, M., Sjövall, F., Tomašič, T., Pevec, M., Lah, J., Forteza, J.A., Sundin, A., Leffler, H., Nilsson, U.J. et al. (2025) Nanomolar inhibitor of the galectin-8 N-terminal domain binds via a non-canonical cation-π interaction. Communications Chemistry, 8, 59.
12. Purić, E., Marinović, M., Kojek, Z., Kahl-Knutson, B., Leffler, H., Nilsson, U.J., Anderluh, M. and Mravljak, J. (2025) Design, synthesis, and evaluation of a novel fluorescent probe for competitive fluorescence polarization assay to screen galectin-8 inhibitors. Acta Pharm, 75, 273-282.
13. Saamarthy, K., Daams, R., Sime, W., Persson, C., Chygorin, E., Ahlqvist, K., Evans-Axelsson, S., Strand, D. and Massoumi, R. (2025) An optimised Bcl-3 inhibitor for melanoma treatment. British Journal of Pharmacology, 182, 2426-2446.
14. Shibazaki, C., Sugiyama, H., Ueda, M., Oku, T., Adachi, M., Fisher, Z. and Akutsu-Suyama, K. (2025) Development of the Direct Deuteration Method for Amino Acids and Characterization of Deuterated Tryptophan. Bioengineering (Basel), 12.
15. Szakács, B., Kaszás, T., Juhász-Tóth, É., Cservenyák, I., Timári, I., Nilsson, U.J., Varga, L.A., Docsa, T., Molnár, V., Kulcsár, A.E. et al. (2025) A Regioselective Synthesis of 2,4-Disubstituted 2H-1,2,3-Triazoles by Coupling of N-Tosylhydrazones and Anhydro-Aldose Tosylhydrazones with 4-Substituted 1H-1,2,3-Triazoles – Scope and Limitations. ACS Omega, 10, 61370-61399.

Collaboration

We collaborate in various ways with wider society and organisations within and outside LU. In 2025 LP3 hosted 4 visitors. LP3s efforts for visibility, access and outreach are described in the equally named chapter above. LP3 is part of PPS, which results in collaborations between the different nodes and platforms in PPS. LP3 became associated in late 2023 as a local research infrastructure with the Lund SciLifeLab node. Additionally, LP3 is part of LU thematic collaboration initiative: Pandemics and Alertness, which will be continued as a LINXS theme.