engleski

Protein crystals

In the small molecule molecular crystal all atoms are ordered in a regular three-dimensional lattice while in the protein crystals 30-75% of the content is in a liquid state and therefore disordered. Parts of the molecule can also show great mobility. These molecules can crystallize only in the 65 space groups that do not contain inversion symmetry. It is not easy to crystallize proteins and also the techniques are quite different from those of small molecules. Hanging or sitting drop techniques are often used. This method combines vapour diffusion and precipitating agents to bring the protein solution into a supersaturated state. Obtaining protein of high purity by different chromatography, electrophoresis and other methods is very important for getting X-ray quality crystals. X-ray crystallography is a powerful technique for studying proteins at atomic resolution. Since these crystals do not diffract very well the synchrotron source is often needed. However, from such data the crystal structure can be often be solved and structural details needed for explaining the enzyme mechanism can be obtained.

Protein; crystals

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