Upgrade to a high performance liquid chromatography system for peptide and protein chemistry

Protein molecules in a human body frequently interact with other molecules. Some of these intermolecular interactions are transient in nature allowing, for example, the transduction of a physiological signal, while others are practically permanent, giving rise to larger protein assemblies with defined functions. Although these types of interactions are ubiquitous and essential for many physiological processes, the actual mechanisms by which they occur are poorly understood. Furthermore, perturbations to these interactions occur under many disease conditions, often being directly implicated in progression of the disease. Dr. Rainey's research program aims to understand this situation for two key physiological situations. First, the protein collagen, which is the most abundant protein in animals. Collagen forms fibres which are key components of skin, tendons, bones and the tissue surrounding vital organs. Despite its abundance and importance, the way in which collagen forms these fibres is not understood. Second, Dr. Rainey is targeting understanding of interactions that occur on the surfaces of individual cells within the body. These interactions are essential for life, but are difficult to study. The high performance liquid chromatography infrastructure provided by this Research Tools & Instruments Grant is critical for Dr. Rainey's group to prepare purified samples of proteins for study by nuclear magnetic resonance, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy alongside scanning probe microscopy. The HPLC instrument is a workhorse of the overall research program since, without purified samples, no downstream biophysical characterization can proceed. As a whole, this research program is providing both basic understanding of key physiological processes. As these intermolecular interaction processes become better understood, potential therapeutic directions or diagnostic methods will become apparent. Atomic-level to supramolecular understanding of collagen will also facilitate development of new biomaterials.