Röntgenstrukturanalyse großer Biomoleküle

Crystallography is a powerful tool for the determination of three‐dimensional structures of large biomolecules. In recent years, the number of published crystal structures has dramatically increased. this is due in part to the knowledge on the three‐dimensional structure to the general understanding of biochemical processes is demonstrated for three selected examples. Crystal structures of human growth hormone bound to receptor peptides strongly suggests a general principle of receptor‐mediated signal transduction. A self‐splicing RNA nitron, seen in three dimensions, reveals general folding patterns in nucleic acids. Finally, HIV protease is discussed as a paradigm for structure‐based drug design.