Spectrofluorometer for protein structure and function analysis

Proteins are the most functionally diverse biomolecules, and our collective research is trying to understand how they work. The proteins we study include a key protein involved in bacterial growth and pathogenesis, enzymes that are essential for cellular metabolism, membrane receptors, and collagen, the most abundant animal protein in the world. Our work will lead not only to greater knowledge of important biological processes, but also to development of new products and therapies for many diseases such as cancer and infection.As proteins are much too small to be seen, our research relies on special probes to report what is going on at the atomic to molecular level. One of the most useful tools for protein research is fluorescence, which can provide accurate and sensitive information about molecular environment, interactions, and dynamic events. The requested spectrofluorometer will allow us to investigate these properties for proteins with natural or attached fluorescent probes, using state-of-the-art accessories that can provide information about the dynamic events involved in protein structural changes and interactions.