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

We are seeking funds for the acquisition of a Beckman Optima(TM) MAX-XP bench top ultracentrifuge with two fixed angle rotors (MLA-130, TLA-100.3) one swinging bucket rotor (MS-50) and one near vertical rotor (TLN-120), providing a full range of capacity and centrifugal forces. With appropriate adapters, these rotors can be used for a variety of tube sizes, allowing ultracentrifugation of volumes from 0.8 mL up to 5 mL, per tube. Each rotor holds up to four tubes, allowing work up of from 0.8 to 20 mL of sample. The Optima(TM) MAX-XP has very rapid acceleration (< 1 min), achieving centrifugal forces up to 10e6 x g (depending on the rotor). Spins are therefore more rapid than a standard floor model, which is ideal for working with small volumes of recombinant protein or cell extracts. The versatility of the Optima(TM) MAX-XP is evident in the variety of research conducted by the six applicants interested in using it routinely. For example, the Optima(TM) MAX-XP ultracentrifuge will be used to isolate mitochondria, microsomes, sperm nuclei and low abundance proteins from a variety of biological sources. The unifying aspect is the need to routinely generate highly purified subcellular components on a relatively small scale. Acquisition of the Optima(TM) MAX-XP ultracentrifuge will allow the applicants to explore aspects of their respective research programs that are currently not accessible, largely due to scale. Ultracentrifugation of microvolumes (less than 1 mL in some cases) will permit work with low abundance proteins, allow scale-up in replication, minimize tissue sample size and facilitate procedures that are hampered by the availability of suitable equipment.