Parallel computational techniques for the analysis of sedimentation velocity experiments in UltraScan

The advent of parallel computing technology and low-cost computing hardware has facilitated the adoption of high-performance computing tools for the analysis of sedimentation data. Over the past 15 years, we have developed the UltraScan software (Demeler et al., http://ultrascan.uthscsa.edu) to support sedimentation analysis, experimental design, and data management. We describe here recent extensions and advances in methodology that have been adapted in UltraScan. High-performance computing methods implemented on parallel supercomputers utilizing grid computing technology are used to analyze sedimentation experiments at much higher resolution than was previously possible. We discuss the implementation of parallel computing in three novel algorithms used in UltraScan for modeling of sedimentation velocity experiments and provide guidelines for effective data analysis.