Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

This application requests funding for an automated high pressure system to purify (separate) proteins and peptides (polymers of amino acids). The instrument has computer controlled solvent gradient delivery, multichannel ultraviolet (UV) detection and conductivity detection, and fraction collection. The instrumentation is designed to be compatible with protein solutions (e.g. aqueous buffers under both acid and base conditions) and is able to handle samples with continuous multi-hour operationin a cold room (4 C). The requested equipment can allow isolation of pure proteins and peptides using a wide variety of chromatography columns. These include, but are not limited to, ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, size exclusion and ligand affinity columns. There is no equivalent instrument with the requested capabilities in the Chemistry Department. The main users will be the 11 Ph.D. students and 3 postdoctoral researchers in the principal applicant's group. However, the equipment will be accessible to all research groups in our department (>12 groups can be expected to frequently use the proposed equipment). It will also be used periodically by other researchers (often collaborators) at the University of Alberta in the Faculties of Science, Medicine, Engineering and Agricultural Life & Environmental Sciences. Proteins (e.g. enzymes) and peptides are at the core of our research effort. Many are drug candidates or are targets of such compounds