Crystallization is the key unit operations in the pharmaceutical industries representing the link between the synthesis and downstream process units. The operating conditions of the crystallization process determine the physical properties of the products such as purity, size and shape distribution or polymorphic form. These properties will strongly influence the efficiency of the subsequent do...

Structural genomics initiatives aim to elucidate representative 3D structures for the majority of protein families over the next decade, but many obstacles must be overcome. The correct design of constructs is extremely important since many proteins will be too large or contain unstructured regions and will not be amenable to crystallization. It is therefore essential to identify regions in pro...

Different genome-editing strategies have fuelled the development of new DNA-targeting molecular tools allowing precise gene modifications. Here, the expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction of BurrH, a novel DNA-binding protein from Burkholderia rhizoxinica, are reported. Crystallization experiments of BurrH in its apo form and in complex with its target DNA y...

Phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) is a widespread two-domain enzyme that plays a critical role in the glycolytic pathway. Several glycolytic enzymes from streptococci have been identified as surface-exposed proteins that are involved in streptococcal virulence by their ability to bind host proteins. This binding allows pneumococcal cells to disseminate through the epithelial and endothelial layers....

We study crystallization in a model system for eicosane (C20) by means of molecular dynamics simulation and identify the microscopic mechanisms of homogeneous crystal nucleation and growth. For the nucleation process, we observe that chains first align and then straighten. Then the local density increases and finally the monomer units become ordered positionally. The subsequent crystal growth p...

Pre-aggregation of lithium aryloxides into tetrahedral arrangements followed by crystallization with the divergent Lewis base dioxane results in the preparation of three types of coordination polymers: zig-zag chains, (6,3) sheets, and diamondoid lattices.

ElaGT is a glycosyltransferase from a marine Streptomyces species that is involved in the biosynthesis of elaiophylin. Here, the molecular cloning, protein expression and purification, preliminary crystallization and crystallographic characterization of ElaGT are reported. The rod-shaped crystals belonged to space group P2(1)22, with unit-cell parameters a=66.7, b=131.7, c=224.6 Å, α=90, β=90, ...

SAV0479, a hypothetical protein from the Mu50 strain of methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, was selected for structure and function determination as part of a structural genomics project. Here, the cloning, overexpression, purification and crystallization of SAV0479 are reported. Crystals were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method and diffraction data wer...

Cerebral cavernous malformation 2 (CCM2) is a novel two-domain adaptor protein which participates in multiple cellular signalling pathways. Loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding CCM2 are the cause of common human vascular lesions called cerebral cavernous malformations. Here, the purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of the C-terminal domain of C...

The BRCA1 holoenzyme complex plays an important role in DNA damage repair. ABRAXAS is a newly discovered component of this complex and its C-terminal region directly binds to the BRCA1 BRCT domain. Single crystals of the BRCA1 BRCT-ABRAXAS complex grown by co-crystallization belonged to space group P4(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 187.18, c = 85.31 Å. Diffraction data were collecte...