# Optima AUC analytical ultracentrifuge

> **NIH NIH S10** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2020 · $365,393

## Abstract

SUMMARY
In this application, we propose to acquire an Optima AUC analytical ultracentrifuge with UV/Vis absorbance
and Rayleigh interference optics from Beckman Coulter. There are currently no other AUC instruments at the
University of Minnesota. The instrument will be housed in the Minnesota Nano Center, a centrally located,
shared facility that will ensure availability to a large number of biomedical researchers at the University of
Minnesota. Access to this instrument will enable researchers to measure the sizes, shapes and hydrodynamic
properties of their molecules of interest, quantify binding affinities and stoichiometries, assay a range of
reaction conditions simultaneously in a single experimental run, and quantify molecular or oligomeric
heterogeneities. The Optima AUC will enable monitoring of samples either by absorbance at a single or
multiple wavelengths, or via interference optics, which can detect molecules that have low absorbance relative
to the absorbance of the sample buffer. These features will offer users flexibility in their detection method, thus
circumventing the need to chemically modify or otherwise label samples. Acquisition of the Optima AUC will
advance the aims of 14 NIH-funded projects and a number of projects funded through other federal or private
foundation sources. These projects represent a diverse collection of research goals, including the
understanding and treatment of human diseases such as cancer, HIV, neurological disorders, kidney
disorders, cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy, as well as the optimization of efficient drug delivery
systems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9939229
- **Project number:** 1S10OD026770-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Naomi Courtemanche
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $365,393
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-26 → 2021-08-25

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9939229

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9939229, Optima AUC analytical ultracentrifuge (1S10OD026770-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9939229. Licensed CC0.

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