Calorimeters
There are two calorimeters in Rm. 4035
Chemistry, each for conducting very different types of experiments. The instruments are available
to trained users only. To become a trained user, just ask!
Note that the room houses the instruments and very little else - users are on their own to supply
basic needs such as Pasteur pipettes, distilled water, glassware, etc.
DSC
The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC)
is used for studying the thermodynamics of folding & unfolding (or other transitions) in polymers
by measuring the difference in heat absorbed (or released) between a sample and a reference as their
temperatures are changed.
- Sample
- Typically, 0.5 mL of sample and 0.5 mL of
reference are necessary. For proteins, the concentration typically should be in the 0.2 - 2
mg/mL range. - Time
- A DSC run is really a "crawl" -
expect to spend about a day on each sample. Don't forget to include clean-up time!
- I want to reserve the DSC!
Please be realistic and considerate when reserving time - take all you want, but want all you
take. To reserve time on the instrument, you must be an authorized user.
ITC
The isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC)
detects the heat released or absorbed when a ligand binds to a receptor.
- Sample
- For "comfortable" experiments, you will need ~2
mL of the receptor solution and ~0.3 mL of the ligand solution. Typically, a receptor
concentration of 0.2 mM is a good starting place, but depends on the binding enthalpy and the
Kd. - Time
- An ITC run is really a "walk" - expect
to spend at least three hours on each sample. Don't forget to include clean-up time!
- I
want to reserve the ITC!
Please be realistic and considerate when reserving time - take all you want, but want all you take. To
reserve time on the instrument, you must be an authorized user.