Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Peptides are small polymers of amino acids essential for the correct functioning of living organisms. Peptides are messengers for a variety of physiological functions inflammation, pain, glycemia, blood pressure, etc. Consequently, structure/function studies of peptides and their associated targets are of crucial importance to understand the function of various metabolic pathways associated to many diseases. Our research program requires a peptide synthesizer system for the production of the various peptides and analogues necessary to conduct these projects. An important aspect of our research program targets the development of new tools for the diagnostic of various types of cancer. Our biomarkers are peptide derivatives modified to offer a better contrast in medical imaging. Another important aspect of our research program targets the development of peptidic tools to study biological interactions (protein/protein, protein/peptide). The required peptide synthesizer system will also be used to produce peptide libraries: a feature essential for our structure/function studies. Moreover, the acquisition of the peptide synthesizer will also provide us with the possibility to make in parallel several peptides; thus increasing the productivity of our research unit. This system is seminal for several of our studies; it will allow us to pursue our state of the art research in pharmacology and medicinal chemistry.