X-ray diffractometer for macromolecular crystallography

• Subject Area: Biological Chemistry and Food Chemistry
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 441529220

With this proposal for major research instrumentation we want to apply for a single crystal X-ray diffractometer as major instrument for macromolecular crystallography. Using this instrument, we want to primarily structurally characterize proteins and protein complexes. However, besides the instrument should be capable for small molecule structure determination. This is important for several research laboratories in the Greifswald research community. The X-ray diffractometer will form a functional unit for crystal screening in 96-well format. The diffractometer is complemented by a liquid handling robot (screen builder), a robot to perform nanolitre crystallization experiments and a documentation system for the crystallization plates consisting of a plate hotel and a camera system. This instrumentation is solely used for preparation of protein crystals for subsequent analysis by the X-ray diffractometer. Although the analysis of protein crystals is in the center of the system, the system should be capable to also conduct data collection and data processing for small molecule crystals as it will be used also to a small extend for small molecule structure determination. In the focus of this application is to set up a system that allows us to perform crystal screening in 96-well format. This includes the screening procedure but also the possibility to perform in situ X-ray diffraction experiments within the 96-well plates. All instrumentation upstream of the X-ray diffractometer, i.e. the liquid handling robot, the robot for nanolitre crystallization and the documentation system, solely serve to produce and to optimize crystals for subsequent analysis by the X-ray diffractometer. These instruments will not be used for any other applications in the laboratory. The existing instrumentation is defective, obsolete and does not cope with todays demand performing high throughput crystallization experiments. The X-ray diffractometer can only be used efficiently and used to capacity is the laboratory is equipped with liquid handling robot, a nanolitre crystallization robot and a documentation system. All instrumentation forms a functional unit for X-ray crystallography and is therefore applied for in this major research instrumentation proposal. This is extremely important for the future development of the research community in Greifswald, to conduct and establish internal and external collaborations as our group is the only group on macromolecular crystallography at Greifswald University and in the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a whole.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Röntgendiffraktometer für makromolekulare Kristallographie
• Instrumentation Group: 4010 Einkristall-Diffraktometer
• Applicant Institution: Universität Greifswald
• Leader: Professor Dr. Michael Lammers