Macromolecular crystallography is increasingly being viewed as the ultimate tool of the biotechnology industry. It is central to the rational design of new pharmaceuticals and other types of genetically engineered industrial chemicals. The enormous increase in the use of powerful computers and the development of area detectors for the rapid collection of X-ray diffraction data has moved the existing bottleneck in macromolecular crystallography back to the stage of growing high quality crystals. Cryschem, Inc. has developed a powerful, systematic and rational strategy for the growth of diffraction quality, single crystals of commercially important macromolecules. A plastic crystallization chamber will be designed to easily adapt for use with an automated, pipetter/diluter, sample preparation system, such as the Biomek 1000, Automated Laboratory Workstation, from Beckman Instruments. This simple system will allow a technician to rapidly and efficiently prepare the large number of samples required to systemically determine the best conditions for the crystallization of the target macromolecule from a micro- drop sample. The crystallographer can use this information to fine-tune the conditions necessary for the growth of larger and more perfect crystals.
| Morris, D W; Kim, C Y; McPherson, A (1989) Automation of protein crystallization trials: use of a robot to deliver reagents to a novel multi-chamber vapor diffusion plate. Biotechniques 7:522-7 |
