It is critical to obtain a modern, reliable circular dichroism (CD) spectrophotometer with temperature control and stopped flow systems to support the research programs at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The number of investigators with strong interests in protein and nucleic acid structure has greatly increased in recent years, and circular dichroism has emerged as one of the simplest and most direct methods for monitoring conformation, transitions folding. Ten independent investigators (eight of them with N.I.H. grants, and two new faculty in the process of applying for N.I.H. grants) document in this applications a need for this instrument to investigate protein folding, to examine the conformation and structure-function relationships of purposefully modified proteins expressed in bacteria, to determine interactions of proteins with ions and other molecules, and to distinguish different helical forms of DNA. The Cary 61 CD spectrophotometer present in the Department of Biochemistry since 1973 is not reliable at wavelengths below 220nm and is unable to met these needs. Each user requires only 5-15% of total instrument time; its purchase by any one individual cannot be justified and yet it would greatly enhance the research programs of al users. The ease of data collection and processing for the Aviv CD spectrophotometer makes it practical and accessible as a multiuser facility.
