The purpose of this contract is to support the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in its mission to stimulate research towards discovery of improved therapy for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and associated opportunistic infections. The NIAID requires production of state-of-the-art reagents to support laboratory research efforts of AIDS investigators. The development of antiviral and anti-infective drugs and vaccines effective against HIV and associated opportunistic microorganisms has been hampered by the absence of standardized, freely available reagents. Such reagents are necessary for the production of specific drug targets in vitro so that efficient screening of candidate synthetic compounds can proceed expeditiously. Because of technical difficulties in the propagation of opportunistic pathogens in vitro, molecular reagents are urgently needed to develop improved methods to monitor organism load in patients undergoing treatment. The contractor will receive reagents and starting materials from the Project Officer for the purpose of modifying, amplifying, producing, and shipping molecular biology reagents to the NIAID AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program for distribution to NIAID-supported investigators. It is the objective of this activity to prepare, evaluate, and amplify cDNA and genomic libraries; prepare expression vectors and produce gene products; to prepare, produce, and purify soluble proteins; to prepare and produce polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies; and to assay, evaluate, describe, and ship the resulting reagents to the NIAID and to scientific investigators studying opportunistic infections. The products produced under this contract will be used to support the research activities of the scientific community. The NIAID needs access to significant quantities of the noted materials to support the efforts of the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Groups, the AIDS Clinical Study Groups, the Programs of Excellence in Basic Research on AIDS, and other specific programs initiated by NIAID.
