Latest Posters

Phase Diagram Visualization via Continuously-Fed Crystallization: Experiments and Model
Masano Sugiyama and Victor Barocas, University of Minnesota

A continuously-fed crystallization chamber is manufactured to allow phase diagram visualization. This microfluidic system allows the experimenter to screen a large range of salt and protein concentrations in one experiment. This allows the experimenter to predict the protein phase diagram in a single experiment. A continuous-feed crystallization chamber has been successfully fabricated and characterized in terms of its flow profile, and has successfully predicted the phase diagram for lysozyme.

Low Volume Liquid Handling of Organic Solvents for Compound Storage and Dissolution using mosquito
Gillian Lewis, Tristan Cope, Joby Jenkins, David Gledhill & Rob Lewis, TTP Labtech

mosquito® is a positive displacement liquid handling system capable of pipetting solutions with a high degree of accuracy (to within 5%) and precision (CVs of <10%) in the nanolitre range. Here, we demonstrate mosquito’s ability to dispense accurately low volumes of organic solvents of low surface tension and to re-dissolve compounds which have been previously dried in storage wells.

New Developments for a Full Automation of the FIP Beamline at the ESRF
Jacquamet L., Bertoni A., Borel F., Charrault P., Israel-Gouy P., Iwema T., Kahn R., Joly J., Ohana J., Pirocchi M., Robin A., Serre L., Vernede X. and Ferrer J. L., Institut de Biologie Structurale

FIP (French beamline for the Investigation of Proteins) at the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) pushed developments in automation to reach a fully automated beamline. - The energy adjustment and beam optimization are completely automated. - The screening of the different protein crystals is ensured by a robotic system.In addition, this robot offers the possibility to analyze crystals directly as they grow in drops inside crystallization plates.

Insights into the Mechanism of Partial Agonism: Crystal Structures of the Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor-gamma Ligand-Binding Domain in the Complex with Two Enantiomeric Ligands
Giorgio Pochetti, Cristina Godio, Nico Mitro, Donatella Caruso, Samuele Scurati, Andrea Galmozzi, Fulvio Loiodice, Giuseppe Fracchiolla, Paolo Tortorella, Antonio Laghezza, Antonio Lavecchia, Ettore Novellino, Fernando Mazza, Maurizio Crestani, Istituto di Cristallografia, Universit degli Studi di Milano,Universit degli Studi di Bari and Universit di LAquila

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are transcriptional regulators of glucose and lipid metabolism. They are activated by natural ligands, such as fatty acids, and are also target of synthetic antidiabetic and hypolipidemic drugs. By using cell-based reporter assays, we studied the transactivation activity of two enantiomeric ureidofibrate derivatives.

Methods For Automated Structure Determination for Ligands Within a Protein-Ligand Complex
Gregory L. Warren and Matthew T. Stahl, OpenEye Scientific Software

Afitt is a software package for automated ligand conformation generation and placement within algorithmically identified unfilled electron density. Following real space refinement, the ligand solution is sent for subsequent refinement by Refmac or CNX, via coordinate and dictionary files. We have validated Afitt on forty publicly available data sets, chosen because it contains examples of highly strained ligand conformations.

Automated, Low Volume Dynamic Light Scattering Technology to Accelerate Protein Crystallization
Kevin Jackson and Robert Collins, Wyatt Technology Corporation

The quest for solving protein structure largely relies upon X-Ray diffraction, a method requiring crystalline forms of the target protein. Among the many steps comprising structure determination, the process of protein crystallization represents one of the most significant, time-consuming challenges. A new low sample volume, automated dynamic light scattering (DLS) technology has been developed – the DynaPro Plate Reader.