Laser Facility for Biomolecular Dynamics

现代双分子在时间域的研究需要一系列可靠的激光仪器来覆盖全面研究所需的波长、脉冲能量和时间尺度。通常情况下，这些仪器是分散的，或者不是常规可用的。因此，加强和便利这种生物物理研究的一种手段是将所需的仪器集中到一个中央设施中，研究人员可以在那里以全面和连贯的方式处理研究问题。我们正在纽约大学化学系建立这样一个设施。要求为仪器提供部分支持，以帮助创建最先进的激光光谱学设施，该设施专为生物大分子的光学研究而设计并致力于其结构、动力学和功能。该仪器将被用来研究一些当前重要的问题，包括：构象无序在控制蛋白质功能中的作用；能量和电子转移机制；蛋白质折叠和变性途径；蛋白质和核酸中金属结合部位和水合层的结构和动力学；核酸动力学；以及具有生物学意义的分子中的光物理、光化学和光化学过程。所要求的仪器包括三个激光系统，以提供从0.15ps到CW的时间分辨率和从200到900 nm的可调性。光谱仪、多通道检测、快速混合和低温捕获样品的仪器，将为使用这些激光光源进行时间分辨和稳态拉曼、吸收和荧光提供广泛的实验选择。Kresge基金会最近提供的一笔赠款(25万美元)将用于购买额外的设备，以增强该设施的多功能性和实用性。这项奖励的一个条件是纽约大学筹集100万美元的捐赠来提供设施的维护，这项活动才刚刚开始。该设施的位置和设计是专门为生物研究提供便利的。该设施将由十个主要用户中的三个共同维护，既可供合作项目使用，也可供独立项目使用，包括供学术和工业外部用户使用。

Modern bimolecular research in the time domain requires a broad range of reliable laser based instruments to cover the wavelengths, pulse energies and time scales necessary for a comprehensive study. Typically, these instruments are scattered or not routinely available. Thus, a means of enhancing and facilitating such biophysical studies is to bring together the needed instruments into a central facility where researchers can address research problems in a comprehensive and coherent fashion. We are in the process of creating such a facility in the Chemistry Department at NYU. Partial support is requested for instrumentation to help create a state-of-the-art laser spectroscopy facility, designed for and dedicated to optical studies of biological macromolecules -- their structures, dynamics and functions. This instrumentation will be used to investigate a number of problems of current importance, including: the role of conformational disorder in the control of protein function; energy and electron transfer mechanisms; protein folding and denaturation pathways; the structure and dynamics of metal binding sites and hydration layers in proteins and nucleic acids; nucleic acid dynamics; and photophysical and photochemical and photochemical processes in molecules of biological significance. The requested instrumentation includes three laser systems to provide time resolution from .15 ps to CW and tunability from 200 to 900nm. Spectrometers, multichannel detection, instrumentation for rapid mixing and cryogenic trapping of samples, will make available a wide range of experimental options for time resolved and steady state Raman, absorption and fluorescence using these laser sources. A recent grant from the Kresge Foundation ($250K) will be used to purchase additional equipment to enhance the versatility and usefulness of the facility. A condition of this award is that NYU raise a one million dollar endowment to provide for the maintenance of the facility, a campaign that is just getting under way. The location and design of the facility are specifically geared to facilitate biological studies. The facility, which will be jointly maintained by three of the ten major users, is to be made available for both collaborative and independent projects, including provision for use by academic and industrial external users.