A State-of-the-art BIACORE for UCSF Mission Bay

Fletterick, Robert

Abstract

A State-of-the-Art BIACORE for UCSF Mission Bay Project Summary / Abstract We are requesting a Biacore T100 instrument to provide multiple investigators at UCSF the capability of quantifying the analyses of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology. The only currently available SPR instrument at UCSF's expanding Mission Bay campus is a Biacore 1000. Experimental demands and usage have grown so that the B1000 is inadequate. With the fast rate of expansion of research facilities at the UCSF Mission Bay campus, it is necessary to secure a second and more capable instrument. The improved sensitivity, temperature control, automation and ease of use afforded by the Biacore T100 represents a significant enhancement over the current Biacore 1000. It will enable experimental approaches such as high-throughput sampling and analysis of binding thermodynamics that are impossible with the Biacore 1000. Complemented by the current Biacore 1000, the T100 will ease training and the use of SPR instruments so that more researchers will become familiar with the technology and may plan using it in their work. The addition of a Biacore T100 will benefit a large community of scientists at UCSF and allow investigators to exploit the fullest capabilities of SPR technology. The major users on this proposal represent ten different departments and include affiliations with the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Institute for Quantitative Biochemical Research, the UCSF Diabetes Center, and the Gladstone Institutes. Characterization of biomolecular binding interactions is central to the research programs of all these investigators, and all will benefit from the exceptional sensitivity and high throughput capacity of the T100. The investigators are committed to sharing the instrument and will be proactive in making it available for other users. This will include providing new or occasional users of the instrument with access to the services of highly skilled core users. The T100 will greatly facilitate ongoing, NIH-funded basic investigations that share the fundamental long-term goal of understanding the chemical and physical principles that underlie biologically and medically relevant interactions. Relevance to Public Health Drug discovery depends on knowing mechanisms of human disease. Developing strategies for the chemical synthesis of candidate drugs depends on accurate measurement of their binding to protein targets. The equipment described in this proposal is unique in providing scientists with the most sensitive tools for detecting biological protein interactions in disease mechanisms and for quantitative measurements of binding drug candidates to target proteins. ? ?