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Advanced High-Throughput Platforms for Protein Crystallization
Dr. Ulrike Honisch, Greiner Bio-One GmbH, speaking at Protein Crystallography in Drug Discovery 2005.
Date Posted: Friday, January 13, 2006
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Launch Presentation
 AbstractIn recent years, the area of protein crystallization has been subject to fundamental developments. With the introduction of automation and high-throughput techniques, the amount of time and sample necessary to determine macromolecular structures has been significantly reduced. For this reason, protein crystallization, as part of the structure determination process by X-ray diffraction analysis, is now able to play a vital role in structure-based drug development and structural genomics projects.
Changes in protein crystallography are reflected by the design and properties of the microplates used in this field today. Microplates for protein crystallization have become very specialized, multi-faceted products to meet the diverse requirements of automated high-throughput crystallography for both vapor diffusion and microbatch techniques. Recently, the need for more efficient drop inspection and analysis has initiated the development of microplates with low birefringent background to allow more effective use of polarized light in crystal detection. Exposure under polarized light enables identification of even very minute crystals. However, polystyrene, currently the most widely used material for manufacture of crystallization plates, adversely affects polarization, as the resin itself is birefringent and interferes with polarized light. This drawback can be overcome with the use of unique resins and a sophisticated manufacturing process.
In the effort to save time, money and protein consumption in high-throughput crystallography, an alternative to classical microplates is now under investigation, that is, plastic micro-structured devices for liquid-liquid diffusion crystallography. Plastic microfluidic structures have significant advantages over their counterparts in glass or silicon in that they offer a wide selection of available materials for construction and a lower cost of manufacture.
In this presentation, current advancements in the field of protein crystallization plates, especially the benefits of low birefringent plates, will be discussed, as well as new approaches with plastic micro-structured devices. About SpeakerUlrike Honisch obtained her diploma in biological sciences in 1998 and her Ph.D. in 2002 at the University of Karlsruhe (Germany) in the laboratory of Prof. Walter G. Zumft. During this time she was studying the expression, purification and crystallization of proteins of the assembly apparatus of nitrous oxide reductase of Pseudomas stutzeri. In 2003 she joined Greiner Bio-One GmbH, Frickenhausen (Germany) as product manager R&D for protein crystallization. She is responsible as a project leader for the development and implementation of new products for high throughput protein crystallization. Current projects include microplates with low background polarization and plate designs optimized for small-volume samples. Launch Presentation
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