Multi-usar equipment approved in grant 2015/03964-6: acquisition of a stopped-flow Cd system

• Grant number: 16/02852-2
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• Start date: June 01, 2016
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Principal Investigator: Helena Bonciani Nader
• Grantee: Helena Bonciani Nader
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/03964-6 - Glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans: interplay between structure and function, AP.TEM
• EMU web page: http://www.posgrad.epm.br/biomol/multiequipa/index.asp
• Type of equipment: Processos Físicos - Manipulação de amostras - Fluxo interrompido (stopped flow); Caracterização de Materiais - Espectroscopia - Dicroísmo circular
• Manufacturer: Applied Photophysics
• Model: CS/3D Chirascan-plus qCD

Abstract

Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a technique used to study a variety of chiral molecules (drugs, polymers and biopolymers) in solution. In particular, for proteins, knowledge of structure-function relationship is essential to dissect the mechanism of action and identify novel potential therapeutic targets. The equipment required, besides the CD equipment, has a system for rapid mixing studies (stopped-flow) allowing the monitoring of molecular interactions phenomena, structural alterations, kinetic studies, conformational changes related to changes in physical and chemical parameters and protein folding studies (folding / unfolding), which may occur at reduced time intervals, on the order of milliseconds. Fundamentally, performing kinetic experiments in stopped-flow allows the detection of short-term intermediate in the course of the reaction, allowing access to information on the reaction mechanisms which would not be detectable in classical systems of equilibrium kinetic studies. (AU)