TEMPERATURE PROFILE SPECTROSCOPY

描述(由申请人提供)：生物技术的快速发展 提供了前所未有的关于序列的新信息 核酸和蛋白质。这些丰富的信息创造了一个 实验瓶颈。为了充分发挥新信息的潜力， 新发现的分子必须用它们的特征来描述 功能、结构、能量学及其相互作用。许多重要的 生物学功能的决定因素，以及在筛查和 设计的诊断和治疗试剂，都是热力学的。高吞吐量 分析仪器是必要的，以表征热力学 大量的新分子。目前的方法缺乏速度和能力 与高吞吐量应用程序所需的其他设备配合使用。 这项研究的长期目标是解决快速、准确的需求 生物大分子的热力学表征 基于一种名为温度分布的新概念的分析仪器系列 光谱学。通过在一定范围内同时测量光学特性 温度降低了100倍以上，所需的时间 生物大分子在溶液中的热力学表征将是 已实现。 温度分布光谱方法的发展将允许 生物热力学表征的显著加速 大分子及其相互作用，以及在合理的设计中 用于筛选和其他应用的探针分子。 建议的商业应用： 提出的这项研究解决了对生物大分子进行快速、准确的热力学表征的需要。该方法将产生生物大分子的热熔化轮廓，速度比目前的技术快100倍。这一速度对于在现代筛选方法的背景下开发热力学信息至关重要。新的实验协议也将得到支持。该仪器的设计确保了比现有仪器低得多的成本。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Rapid advances in biotechnology have presented unprecedented amounts of new information about the sequences of nucleic acids and proteins. This abundance of information has created an experimental bottleneck. To realize the full potential of the new information, the newly discovered molecules must be characterized in terms of their function, structure, energetics and their interactions. Many of the important determinants of biological function, as well as applications in screening and design of diagnostic and therapeutic agents, are thermodynamic. High-throughput analytical instrumentation is necessary to characterize thermodynamically the vast array of new molecules. Current methods lack the speed and the ability to couple with other devices necessary for high throughput applications. The long-term goal of this research is to address the need for rapid, accurate thermodynamic characterization of biological macromolecules by developing a family of analytical instruments based a new idea called Temperature Profile Spectroscopy. By measurement of optical properties simultaneously over a range of temperature, a reduction of greater than 100 fold in the time required for a thermodynamic characterization of biological macromolecules in solution will be achieved. Development of the Temperature Profile Spectroscopy methodology will permit a significant acceleration in the thermodynamic characterization of biological macromolecules and their interactions, as well as, in the rational design of probe molecules for use in screening and other applications. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The research proposed addresses the need for rapid, accurate thermodynamic characterization of biological macromolecules. The method will generate thermal melting profiles of biomacromolecules up to 100 times faster than current technology. This speed is critical for exploiting thermodynamic information in the context of modern screening methods. New experimental protocols also will be supported. The design of the instrument ensures a much lower cost than current instruments.