Isothermal titration calorimeter

这笔资金将用于购买等温滴定量热仪(ITC)。ITC是一种测量由于混合两种物质而吸收或释放的热量的仪器。由于几乎所有的过程都伴随着热量的变化，所以这种方法的用处是非常广泛的。在麦克马斯特大学，有生物化学家、化学生物学家、生物物理学家和化学工程师计划使用这种方法。ITC仪器的一个组件放置在电动注射器中，另一个组件放置在量热计的电池中，并保持非常恒定的温度。来自注射器的小的固定体积以预定的速度输送到量热计单元。这会导致热量被吸收或释放。可以确定在热流没有进一步变化(稀释热引起的小影响除外)之前，材料可以输送多少次。从这一系列的进样中，可以计算出反应中的热变化以及两种物质之间的亲和力。该过程可以在一定的温度范围内进行，以了解反应如何随温度变化。该方法将被应用于广泛的问题，包括小分子与大生物聚合物的结合以及理解膜界面的吸收特性。这些结果将被用来解释用其他方法观察到的现象的基础。将开发应用程序，以了解如何优化与药物靶标的相互作用，以及如何保护药物载体和生物材料免受其他物质的吸收。本次申请共有10家主要投资方。ITC的应用将促进每个参与者的研究。它将使人们能够获得准确的、定量的数据。将在基础生物学、生物医学工程和化学等多个领域取得进展。它将允许培训具有高技术技能的个人，为加拿大科学做出贡献，无论是在教育领域还是在工业领域。

The funds will be used to purchase an isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC). An ITC is an instrument that measures the heat absorbed or released as a consequence of mixing two substances. Since virtually all processes are accompanied by a change in heat, the useful of this method is extremely broad. At McMaster University there are biochemists, chemical biologists, biophysicists and chemical engineers planning to use this method. An ITC instrument has one component placed in a motor-driven syringe and the other component is placed in the cell of the calorimeter and maintained at a very constant temperature. Small fixed volumes from the syringe are delivered at a predetermined rate to the calorimeter cell. This results in heat being absorbed or released. It can be determined how many times material can be delivered before there is no further change in heat flow (except for a small effect resulting from the heat of dilution). From the series of injections one can calculate both the heat change in the reaction as well as the affinity of the two substances for each other. The process can be performed at a range of temperatures to understand how the reaction varies with temperature. The method will be applied to a broad range of problems including the binding of small molecules to large biopolymers and to understanding the absorbitive properties of membrane interfaces. The results will be used to explain the basis of phenomena observed by other methods. Applications will develop for understanding how to optimize interactions with drug targets and how to protect drug carriers and biomaterials from absorbing other substances. There are a total of 10 principle invesitgators on this application. Application of ITC will advance the research of each participant. It will allow accurate, quantitative date to be obtained. Advances will occur in a number of areas including basic biology, biomedical engineering and chemistry. It will allow the training of individuals with high technical skill to contribute to Canadian science, both in acedemia as well as industry.