The Link to X-Ray Protein Crystallography

A. Crystal Production

(wet lab)

Production Purification Crystallisation

B. Data Collection

(x-ray lab)

Mounting Shooting Detection

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C. Structure Solution

(computer lab)

Indexing Integration Scaling Phasing Building Refinement Validation Publication

Crystallisation

Unfortunately crystallisation is a dark art and there is no way of predicting the conditions for a good crystallisation of the protein as this would require detailed knowledge of the protein structure (which is what we would actually like determine) and a good understanding of solvation and precipitaiton (we don't even have a complete model of water). The only way to find good crystallisation conditions is to assess the crystallisation space in an efficient manner.

In order to crystallise the protein, few crystel nuclei have to be formed and then the protein should stay in the metastable zone for a long time, so that large crystals can grow. Practically this is achieved via vapour diffusion where water diffuses from a low concentration drop to a high concentration reservoir, thereby slowly concentrating the protein.

LINKS

Proteincrystallography.org
P4EU (Protein Production and Purification Partnership in Europe) network initiative