Funding from the National Institutes of Health was awarded for the purchase of an ultrasensitive microcalorimeter for the study of biomolecular interactions.
The instrument, a Microcal ITC200, tracks the heat released when two molecules interact, allowing determination of a complete thermodynamic profile for the interaction. The ITC200 is specifically optimized for the study of interactions between biological molecules and compounds such as small molecule drug candidates or other proteins. The instrument will impact ongoing studies on the functioning of the immune system, cell signaling, and development of drugs for stroke, cancer, and bacterial infections. Major participants in the proposal were Brian M. Baker, Shahriar Mobashery, Frank Castellino, Rob Stahelin, and Jeffrey Peng.