Optima Analytical Ultracentrifuge (AUC) - Funds are requested to purchase a Beckman-Coulter Optima Analytical Ultracentrifuge (AUC) equipped with Rayleigh interference, multi-wavelength UV-Visible absorbance detection, and required accessories. The instrument will be contained within the new Biophysical Chemistry Characterization Core (BC3) at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB). The new instrument will serve as a replacement to the now obsolete 29-year- old XL-I analytical ultracentrifuge. The Optima AUC is the only commercially available analytical ultracentrifuge and, as of 2017, replaces the Proteomelab XL-I AUC, which is no longer manufactured nor supported by Beckman-Coulter. The new Optima AUC will be the only analytical ultracentrifuge at UAB and in the state of Alabama. The new Optima AUC will advance the health-related goals of multiple NIH funded research projects supported by R00, R01, R35, and R37 grants across multiple National Institutes of Health including, NIGMS, NIAID, NIDCR, and NINDS. This includes principal investigators from UAB departments across both the School of Medicine and academic units including the Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and the UAB Center for Integrative Structural Biology. Results from this instrument will impact NIH- funded research in cancer, viral genome delivery and packaging, neurodegenerative diseases, proteome maintenance, transcription, pre-mRNA splicing, spliceosome assembly and function, HIV-1 viral assembly, biofilm formation, and dental caries (tooth decay). UAB’s mission is to enrich society and improve health and well-being through transformational educational experiences, groundbreaking research, innovation and entrepreneurship, community engagement, and world-class patient care while serving our UAB, local and global communities. Acquisition of this instrument aligns with this mission as it will bring unique biophysical characterization capabilities to UAB and the southeast region. UAB is an NIH Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC), Comprehensive Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), and is one of the top 25 US universities for NIH funding. We have a plan for enlisting new NIH funded researchers from a vast pool of projects at UAB with a likely need for AUC. Furthermore, as a teacher/scholar and NIH funded investigator the PI is committed to training the next generation of biophysical chemists in rigorous and careful analytical techniques, including analytical ultracentrifugation. With nineteen years of classroom experience, the PI employs the most modern pedagogical techniques to teach both physical and biophysical chemistry. With this expertise, we have developed a novel training plan for teaching AUC. This aligns with the UAB mission to improve health and well- being through transformational educational experiences and will impact the broader biophysical community by training the next generation of biophysical chemists and AUC practitioners. In sum, advancing these NIH funded projects contributes to UABs long-range biomedical research goals and will stimulate biomedical research at UAB.
