A new tool promises to expand research capability

The right tool can make all the difference. That’s the case for a new instrument at UNH: an automated isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC), whose applications include optimizing drug development, improving chemical removal in the environment, and helping create materials that accelerate wound healing.

Isothermal titration calorimeter

Isothermal titration calorimetry measures whether heat is consumed or released when two things — such as two chemicals, two solutions, or two biological molecules — are mixed and the magnitude of the change over time.

It sounds simple, but it has far-reaching applications. 

“It greatly enhances our capacity for exciting research at UNH and beyond,” says Sean Edington, assistant professor in the department of molecular, cellular, and biomedical sciences and the department of chemistry, who spearheaded the effort to secure funding for the ITC from the National Science Foundation. “It also provides our students with an important research skill, whether they continue with academic research or move into the biotech industry.”

The ITC, housed at UNH's University Instrumentation Center, is accessible for both UNH and external academic users, as well as nonacademic users as capacity permits, expanding capabilities across organizations in different fields.

Acquiring the ITC was an interdisciplinary effort that included Aylin Aykanat, Nate Oldenhuis, Linqing Li, Roy Planalp, and Patricia Stone from the UNH College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Eva Rose Balog from the University of New England.