THE BIOCALORIMETRY CENTER

A national research facility dedicated to development and application of calorimetric technologies for the biomedical sciences. Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (RR04328).

Department of Biology
The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 516-7917
FAX - (410) 516-6469

OBJECTIVES OF THE BIOCALORIMETRY CENTER

Development of new calorimetric technologies and thermodynamic methods.
Application of these technologies in biomedical research.
Collaborative projects with research laboratories in academia and industry.
Training of research scientists in the theory and application of calorimetry.
Dissemination of information.

The Biocalorimetry Center (BCC) is equipped with the most sophisticated calorimetric facilities available anywhere in the world. These instrumentation and analytical facilities are available free of charge to research laboratories supported by the NIH or NSF. The following facilities are currently available:

Differential Scanning Calorimetry: The BCC is equipped with state-of-the art DSC instrumentation. The BCC instrumentation has better sensitivity, baseline stability and reproducibility than any commercially available instrumentation. These performance characteristics allow precise measurement of absolute heat capacities and not only transition peaks. Absolute heat capacities have proven to be extremely important in the characterization of protein folding intermediates.
Isothermal Titration Calorimetry: The BCC has developed several ITC models that accommodate different experimental needs, like different cell volumes and different dilution ratios. High instrument sensitivities permit measurements of heat effects smaller than 1ộcal in a single pulse, with a baseline noise level better than ~ + 20 ncal sec-1 peak-to-peak noise. Commercial titration instruments (Hart and Omega) are also available.
Other Calorimetric Instrumentation: The BCC also offers the scientific community less common calorimetric instrumentation for highly specialized projects. These instruments include: 1) Discrete flow/mix microcalorimeters; 2) Continuous flow/mix microcalorimeters; 3) Gas-solution microcalorimeter for binding of gases to macromolecules; 4) Temperature-jump infrared laser driven microcalorimeter; 5) Multifrequency calorimeter.
Data Analysis Software: The BCC has developed sophisticated software for calorimetric data analysis. This software includes sophisticated deconvolution algorithms for DSC data and ITC data. Several algorithms aimed at establishing quantitative correlations between structural and energetic parameters have been developed and implemented. Software is available for PC, Macintosh and Silicon Graphics platforms.
Biochemistry Laboratory: A fully equipped biochemical laboratory is available to users for final sample preparation and characterization prior to calorimetric analysis.
Principal Investigators: Dr. Ernesto Freire and Dr. Peter Privalov.

For additional information or to schedule an experiment please contact Dr. Dong Xie at (410) 516-7917 or fax (410) 516-6469.

Links to further information and local resources.