Open AccessHumidity control and hydrophilic glue coating applied to mounted protein crystals improves X‐ray diffraction experiments
Author(s) -
Baba Seiki,
Hoshino Takeshi,
Ito Len,
Kumasaka Takashi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
acta crystallographica section d
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1399-0047
DOI - 10.1107/s0907444913018027
Subject(s) - glue , materials science , coating , polymer , humidity , diffraction , crystal (programming language) , protein crystallization , moisture , relative humidity , lattice constant , x ray crystallography , composite material , chemical engineering , crystallography , chemistry , optics , crystallization , meteorology , computer science , physics , programming language , engineering
Protein crystals are fragile, and it is sometimes difficult to find conditions suitable for handling and cryocooling the crystals before conducting X‐ray diffraction experiments. To overcome this issue, a protein crystal‐mounting method has been developed that involves a water‐soluble polymer and controlled humid air that can adjust the moisture content of a mounted crystal. By coating crystals with polymer glue and exposing them to controlled humid air, the crystals were stable at room temperature and were cryocooled under optimized humidity. Moreover, the glue‐coated crystals reproducibly showed gradual transformations of their lattice constants in response to a change in humidity; thus, using this method, a series of isomorphous crystals can be prepared. This technique is valuable when working on fragile protein crystals, including membrane proteins, and will also be useful for multi‐crystal data collection.