Integrated, Modular Equipment for Large-scale and Small-scale Peptide Synthesis

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The instrumentation requested will equip a Peptide Core Laboratory at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, one of the nation's premier biomedical research institutions. It will consist of a multiple peptide synthesizer for small and intermediate scale peptide production, a preparative HPLC unit with integrated on- line mass spec system, freeze drying apparatus, and a chemical safety hood. Peptides produced in this facility would be used to study: a) hepcidin, a recently discovered 23-residue peptide that is a master regulator of iron uptake and utilization in humans; b) retrocyclins, cyclic octadecapeptides that prevent infection by HIV-1, influenza and herpes viruses; c) beta-amyloid, a peptide whose properties are involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease; d) antioxidant peptides, such as D4F, with the potential to decrease the risk of atherosclerosis; e) immunoregulatory peptides, that could eventually improve the treatment of patients with autoimmune disorders, such as lupus; f) peptides that can block the receptor-mediated ability of anthrax toxins to enter and damage cells; and g) peptides that can functionalize novel nanocomposite materials ("quantum dots"), and promote their development as novel imaging and drug-delivery agents. Each of these projects depends on peptides that are not available "off-the-shelf". Consequently, the studies are often impeded by the expense or difficulty of obtaining peptides that may be cyclic (retrocyclins, D4F), or have multiple disulfide bonds (retrocyclins and hepcidin).