Open AccessAn introduction to molecular replacement
Author(s) -
Evans Philip,
McCoy Airlie
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
acta crystallographica section d
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1399-0047
DOI - 10.1107/s0907444907051554
Subject(s) - simplicity , simple (philosophy) , computer science , molecular replacement , management science , theoretical computer science , epistemology , engineering , chemistry , philosophy , molecule , organic chemistry
Molecular replacement is fundamentally a simple trial‐and‐error method of solving crystal structures when a suitable related model is available. The underlying simplicity of the method is often obscured by the mathematical trickery required to make the searches computationally tractable. This introduction sketches the essential issues in molecular replacement without going into technical details. General search strategies are discussed and the alternative Patterson and likelihood approaches are outlined.