2464/JN - Instrumentation for Label-free Biomolecule Interaction Analysis

With co-funding from NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) we seek equipment offering reliable, user-friendly, quantitative, label-free determination of molecular interactions between a wide variety of biomolecules. We focus on the problems of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from fundamental science to translation into clinical benefit.

We bring together scientists and clinicians to tackle all aspects of AMR. One aspect of our work relates to understanding the molecular mechanisms of AMR.

The ability to measure molecular interactions in a quantitative manner will enhance our research capabilities. The ability to measure the strength of interactions is crucial to mechanistic understanding, e.g. between a bacterial protein and an antibiotic.

Our current equipment is a single channel, operator-intensive machine that is suitable for preliminary studies on molecules with a molecular weight of > 10,000 Da. This has become a bottleneck for our studies due to: 1) its low capacity and 2) its inability to detect interactions between small molecules has prompted us to acquire extra capabilities and increased throughput. This is an non-EU open exercise.