Characterization of biomolecular interactions is a crucial pre-requisite to understanding biological functions on a molecular level. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been an essential component of the biophysical tool kit for decades, providing fundamental information about the interactions between various types of biomolecules, including information about kinetics, affinities, specificity, and underlying thermodynamic quantities. Currently, a state-of-the-art SPR instrument is not broadly available to University of Notre Dame researchers. In response to Program Announcement PAR-19-179, this proposal requests funds to purchase a Biacore T200 SPR system to further the research goals of Notre Dame scientists. The NIH-funded researchers will use the T200 for a variety of projects, including understanding and improving specificity in cellular immunity, characterizing the bacterial cell wall degradome, characterize the interaction of pathogenic bacteria with host cells and designing small molecule inhibitors of molecular chaperones with anti-cancer and neuroprotective effects. This instrument will fulfill an urgent need for access to a shared SPR instrument at Notre Dame. To ensure broad access, the new instrument will be housed in the centrally-located, newly established Biophysics Instrumentation Core (BIC) Facility, where new user training, general operations and upkeep will be overseen by a PhD-level staff scientist. The proposed instrument represents one piece of a large effort currently underway to expand and improve research infrastructure at Notre Dame.
The Biacore T200 surface plasmon resonance system will provide quantitative information about biomolecular interactions. Such information is useful for understanding the molecular basis of and developing treatments for human conditions and diseases such as cancer, antibiotic resistant infections, allergies, stroke, and autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders.
