Screening of protein crystallization conditions on a microfluidic chip using nanoliter-size droplets

J Am Chem Soc. 2003 Sep 17;125(37):11170-1. doi: 10.1021/ja037166v.

Abstract

Protein crystallization is a major bottleneck in determining tertiary protein structures from genomic sequence data. This paper describes a microfluidic system for screening hundreds of protein crystallization conditions using less than 4 nL of protein solution for each crystallization droplet. The droplets are formed by mixing protein, precipitant, and additive stock solutions in variable ratios in a flow of water-immiscible fluids inside microchannels. Each droplet represents a discrete trial testing different conditions. The system has been validated by crystallization of several water-soluble proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Microfluidics / instrumentation*
  • Microfluidics / methods*
  • Muramidase / chemistry
  • Nanotechnology / instrumentation
  • Nanotechnology / methods*
  • Polyethylene Glycols / pharmacology
  • Protein Conformation / drug effects
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Viscosity

Substances

  • Proteins
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Muramidase