Proposal for a Table Top Ultracentrifuge Facility

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Funds are requested for the purchase of a Model TLX-120 Table-Top Ultracentrifuge and Rotors from Beckman Instruments Inc. This instrument will provide new investigative capacity in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and will be an important educational resource in the training of future independent investigators in contemporary molecular, cell and developmental biology. Specifically, it will make possible a variety of studies that must be conducted on very small amounts of biological materials (cells, constituent macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies) under conditions that minimize preparation time and maintain temperatures well below the ambient. Example applications by the major users include analyses of: a) protein phosphorylation as an intracellular signal in flagellar motility: b) secretion granule function in cell-free assays; c) interaction of extracellular matrix components with purified and reconstituted integrins; d) kinesin/dynein interactions with microtubules and membrane- bounded organelles; and e) stage-specific RNAs isolated from embryonic tissues. Comparable instrumentation is not available for routine use by the identified major an minor users.