MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Automated Isothermal Titration Calorimeter

This award is funded by the Major Research Instrumentation and Chemistry Research Instrumentation Programs. The University of New Hampshire is acquiring an isothermal titration calorimeter with a cleaning accessory to support the research of Professor Sean Edington along with colleagues Aylin Aykanat, Eva Balog, Linqing Li, Nate Oldenhuis, Roy Planalp, and Patricia Stone. This instrument facilitates research in the areas of chemistry, protein design, materials science, biosensing, biometal metabolism, biological signaling, and molecular biology. The instrument makes accurate and precise measurements of how strongly different molecules bind to one another and is configured for automatic operation, allowing large numbers of samples to be measured. Accurate measurements of binding interactions are essential to chemists and biologists carrying out frontier research. There is only one other automated publicly accessible device of this type in New England. This instrument therefore increases local, state, and regional scientific capacity, enabling new research projects at multiple universities. This instrument enhances the educational, research, and research training of students at the University of New Hampshire. Through integration in instrument training sessions, coursework, and instrument center outreach events, the instrument enhances the education of students and community members at the University of New Hampshire and beyond. Research enabled by this instrument is focused on chemistry, biotechnology, and materials science. Projects supported by the instrument include study of ion binding in biological signaling, synthesis of sustainable DNA hydrogels, development of microstructured materials to promote wound healing, targeted protein design for biosensor recognition elements, production of tailored hybrid materials for PFAS sensing and sequestration, and rational design of cellular iron probes. The instrument’s capacity for unattended operation provides a powerful tool for collecting large datasets and accommodating users from multiple research groups, making it possible carry out high throughput experiments and cooperative work that would not otherwise be possible. By removing technical and cost barriers, the instrument empowers researchers studying broad but thematically related systems and strengthens a network of scientists with interests clustering around chemistry, biotechnology, and materials science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.