This proposal requests partial funding for the purchase of a 700 MHz NMR spectrometer with a cryogenically cooled probe. The NMR instrumentation will support research efforts in the health-allied sciences and provide training of undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate fellows through NIH-sponsored research and institutional training grants. Acquisition of this state-of-the-art instrumentation is essential for biomedical research being performed by NIH researchers at the University of North Carolina in the following areas: 1) Structural studies of the GTPase Rac-1, Campbell group; 2) Structure and regulation of DBL proteins, Campbell group; 3) 2H relaxation studies of motional coupling effects in proteins, A. Lee group; 4) Structural studies of proteins that bind the 3' end of histone mRNA, Marzluff group; 5) Structural and dynamic analysis of the FAT domain derived from Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK), Schaller group; 6) Structural studies of the FAT-Paxillin complex, Schaller group; 7) Error-prone replicative bypass of platinum adducts, Chaney group; 8) NMR studies of proteins in living Escherichia Coli cells, Pielak group; 9) Structural analysis of computer-designed proteins, Kuhlman group; 10) Identification and structural characterization of bioactive natural products and their derivatives, K.H. Lee group; 11) Metabolomics, MacDonald group; 12) DNA damage and repair, Swenberg group; 13) Contributing factors to stability and specificity in peptide secondary structure, Waters group; 14) Structural studies of cytidine deaminase, Wolfenden. The NMR instrumentation will be housed in the UNC Biomolecular NMR facility at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). The instrumentation requested is critical for the support and development of research programs at the University of North Carolina, as well as to enhance and expand the education of students in chemistry, biophysics, and biochemistry. The requested instrument will also be available for use by other researchers outside of UNC-CH pursuing biomedical research.
