Abstract
The 26th International Analytical Ultracentrifugation Workshop and Symposium (AUC2024) took place at the scenic Banz Abbey near Bad Staffelstein, Germany, from July 22 to 27, 2024. 84 participants from 16 countries (Belgium 1, Canada 7, China 3, Colombia 1, Czech Republic 3, Finland 1, France 3, Germany 35, Israel 1, Italy 1, Japan 2, New Zealand 2, Spain 1, Switzerland 4, United Kingdom 5, United States 14) travelled to Germany to present and discuss the latest advances in the field. 40 workshop sessions were held by world-leading experts covering all aspects of AUC including experimental design, data analysis and data processing according to good manufacturing practice (GMP), but also complementary methods such as hydrodynamic modelling, isothermal titration calorimetry and small angle X-ray scattering data processing were considered. A visit to a stalactite cave in Franconian Switzerland and the Bavarian beer museum in Kulmbach offered a welcome change to the scientific program and started off the 3-day symposium. The presentations featured of course AUC, but also dynamic and static light scattering, small angle X-ray and neutron scattering, surface plasmon resonance, field flow fractionation, calorimetry, chromatography, and electron microscopy. The AUC2024 special volume provides a comprehensive overview of the sustained innovation, utility and relevance of AUC and related solution biophysical and particle technology methods across various disciplines, including biochemistry, structural biology, synthetic polymer chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, protein and nucleic acid characterization, nano and colloids science, and macromolecular interactions.