ITC Training Workshop

Microcalorimetry Facility

Biotechnology•Bioservices Center

Available January 9-13, 2012

Click here for details

About Us

The Microcalorimetry Facility was established in 2011 as the result of the acquisition of nano-ITC (Isothermal Titration) and nano-DSC (Differential Scanning) Calorimeters from TA Instruments, which was made possible with funding awarded through the VPR’s Major Equipment Competition in October 2010. This Facility is housed in the Pharmacy/Biology Building, Room 604, and is available to the University of Connecticut research community from the Storrs campus and Health Center in Farmington. In addition, academic and industrial laboratories across the northeast are welcome to use the Facility’s services and equipment. Dr. Olga Vinogradova heads the Facility and supervises regular operation of the equipment.

Research Potential

ITC is a quantitative technique that can directly measure the binding affinity, enthalpy changes, and binding stoichiometry of the interaction between two or more molecules in solution. From these initial measurements Gibbs energy and entropy changes can be determined in a relatively straightforward manner. These complete thermodynamic profiles of the interactions in question are of enormous value in drug design because they provide information about the balance of driving forces that cannot be obtained from structural or computational methods alone. ITC applications for studying macromolecule/small molecule and macromolecule/macromolecule binding reactions include measurement of:

• Binding constant
• Stoichiometry
• Enthalpy-entropy compensation
• Environmental effects on binding
• Enzyme kinetics

DSC is a thermo-analytical technique which can be used to monitor phase transitions in different systems.
DSC applications for macromolecular characterization include the studying of:

• Stability
• Unfolding
• Domain structure
• Interactions with membranes
• Binding

Instrumentation

The TA Instruments’ Nano-Series calorimeters represent the highest sensitivity and unmatched flexibility for the investigation of biological samples. These are the most sensitive instruments available with the smallest sample volume requirement (200 µL for ITC and 300 µL for DSC) designed to address the needs of today’s life science researchers – particularly those engaged in drug discovery and development. New heat sensing architecture is used to achieve the precise control of the temperature. The unique nano-ITC syringe assembly allows automatic, efficient, and accurate delivery of titrant. The true isothermal power compensation design provides improved baseline stability and tolerance to environment temperature fluctuations, delivers a fast response time for optimizing injection intervals, and reduces the total time for experiments. Easy-to-use NanoAnalyze data analysis software is freely available for download from the company’s website. The Nano-DSC is specifically designed to determine the thermal stability and heat capacity of proteins and other macromolecules in dilute solution, with versatility to allow the screening of ligands and pressure perturbation measurements.

Training and Education

Consultation, instruction, and initial assistance with set up are available to users of the Facility by trained graduate students. Analytical software is freely downloadable from the TA Instruments’ website.

Cost for Services:

Costs for services can be found here. Users of the facility must first contact Dr. Olga Vinogradova for determination of training requirements. User workshops will be developed based upon number of requests and schedule availability beginning January 2012.

All rates are subject to periodic review and change.