This proposal is for the establishment of an analytical ultracentrifuge facility on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University. Initially this facility will support the research of 12 faculty members in the areas of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Cell and Molecular Biology. The use of this facility for the analysis of the hydrodynamic properties of molecular assemblies will be highly complementary with the work carried out by these groups at the Biocalorimeter Center on campus. Research to use the facility will include studies of histones and nucleosomes; repeat-protein functions in signal transduction; the galactose repressor; new strategies for molecular targeting and drug design; regulatory interactions in RNA icosahedral plant viruses; control of HIV-1 and HSV-1 infection by plant lignans; and oligomers of staph nuclease.
