Analytical ultracentrifuge with absorbance and interference optics.

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Funds to purchase an Analytical Ultracentrifuge (AUC), model Beckman Couture Optima AUC, are being requested. This state-of-the-art instrument will expand the research capabilities of a core number of NIH funded investigators at North Dakota State University (NDSU). The AUC will allow characterization of macromolecules in solution to obtain quantitative details on the size, shape, heterogeneity, conformation, and assembly dynamics of these samples. This biophysical information provides critical information to understand the activation, inhibition, overall regulation, and general function of biological processes. The chosen instrument has both interference and absorbance optics allowing for the characterization of a broad range of sample types, including sugars and lipids that do not have characteristic absorbance coefficients. Currently, NDSU does not have this instrumentation and there is no AUC within a 200 mile radius. Therefore, users are currently relying on access to an AUC via long distance collaboration or for fee service providers. This can be inefficient and/or prohibitively expensive for investigators. The instrument will be housed in a core facility managed by a full time Ph.D. scientist, supported by NDSU and whose salary is not dependent on user fees. Thus, access and maintenance of the instrument will have direct supervision protecting the longevity of the instrument. Projects of immediate relevance that will be addressed involve 1) protein:protein interactions involved in bacterial cell surface signaling, 2) understanding agonist/antagonist influence on protein:protein interactions involve in a G-protein coupled receptor, 3) protein:protein interactions involved in autophagy regulation, and 4) assembly dynamics of a heme utilizing enzyme. Overall, our user group represents investigators in four departments across three colleges and the instrument will facilitate research in areas related to pharmacology to materials. The presence of an AUC at NDSU will greatly enhance the research directions of these and other projects of NIH relevance. It will significantly increase student training opportunities and research productivity of faculty.