Improving Crystallization On Earth and In Space!
Today @ 4:30 PM - In Situ-1™ Plates Launch Into Space!
While our crystallization plates were designed for earth-based crystallization, it turns out the unique features we developed also make them great for growing crystals in micro-gravity. This is the second time these plates will be leaving earth for experiments aboard the International Space Station, having already flown on SpaceX CRS-8. We are very excited about the launch. We will be watching it live and you can too!
The Launch:
Follow SpaceX CRS-14 Launch Coverage Today:
The SpaceX launch of the 14th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-14) mission is scheduled to launch on April 2nd, 2018 at 4:30 PM ET. This launch to the space station will include a selection of MiTeGen crystallization platforms in the Protein Crystal Growth Kit (see image of actual kit below). These experiments will research the impact that micro-gravity has on crystal growth and obtaining high-quality crystals.

Catch all the excitement of pre-launch and launch updates today starting at 4:00 p.m. EDT on NASA TV!
The Plates:
In Situ-1™ Crystallization Plates: Great for Space, Even Better In Your Lab
Improve Crystal Growth & Reproducibility

• Controlled vapor diffusion via micro-channels provides stable nucleation and growth

Produce Results in Your Lab with Versatility

• Reservoir retention ledge allows for transport and inversion for easy hanging drops

Enhanced Screening & Data Collection:

• Ultra thin-film backing allows in-plate X-ray diffraction
The Payload:
Regular and Modular In Situ-1™ Crystallization Plates
Below is an image of the actual Protein Crystal Growth Kit being sent up today. The photo is courtesy of Kristofer Gonzalez-DeWhitt. Next month, we will be featuring a spotlight on the research that Kris is doing on the ISS.
(Image Contents - Top-left: MiTeGen Modular In Situ™ Plates (G2), Top-right: Regular In Situ™-1 plates)
Looking for better crystals? Try the latest screens!
XP Screen (Protein Crystal Glue)
(Figure adapted from [1], used by courtesy of Prof. Annette Rompel, University of Vienna, Austria)
A crystallization screen for improved crystal quality and phasing
The XP screen provides 96 of the most prominent crystallization conditions upgraded with "Protein Crystal Glue" a universal and flexible crystallization additive known as Anderson−Evans polyoxotungstate [TeW 6 O 24 ] 6−  (TEW) This additive promotes protein crystallization, even for the most challenging targets, and often improves the diffraction quality of protein crystals.
TEW was shown to:
  • Covalently bind and structurally adapt to fit into protein molecules (cgAUS1, PDB code: 4Z12, 4Z13)[2]

  • Act as a linker in various orientations and thereby create either smaller (abPPO4, PDB code: 4OUA) or larger (lysozyme, PDB code: 4PHI) protein-protein distances [3,4]

  • Induce heterogeneous crystallization of two different protein forms in one single crystal (abPPO4, PDB code: 4OUA)[4]
References:
[1] Bijelic et al. (2017) Ten Good Reasons for the Use of the Tellurium-Centered Anderson-Evans Polyoxotungstate in Protein Crystallography. Acc. Chem. Res. 50:1441. 
[2] Molitor et al. (2016) In situ formation of the first proteinogenically functionalized [TeW6O24O2(Glu)]7- structure reveals unprecedented chemical and geometrical features of the Anderson-type cluster. Chem. Commun. 52:12286. 
[3] Bijelic et al. (2015) Hen Egg-White Lysozyme Crystallisation: Protein Stacking and Structure Stability Enhanced by a Tellurium(VI)-Centred Polyoxotungstate. ChemBioChem 16:233. 
[4] Mauracher et al. (2014) Latent and active abPPO4 mushroom tyrosinase cocrystallized with hexatungstotellurate(VI) in a single crystal. Acta Cryst. D 70:2301.
The Berkeley Screen

Having a difficult time getting hits?

This screen has been proven to provide crystals [1] . It was developed using a statistical analysis of the Biological Macromolecular Crystallization Database, by researchers at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology at the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory .

These conditions have been extensively used to crystallize target proteins from the Joint BioEnergy Institute and the Collaborative Crystallography program at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology.

Universal Pucks (Uni-pucks) and Tools
Proven quality and dependability
Planning to collect data remotely? Don't risk losing all of your hard work.

Ship your crystals confidently by obtaining Universal Pucks (Uni-pucks) and Tools from the leading puck supplier in crystallography.

Our products have been used to transports thousands and thousands of crystals to synchrotrons all around the world.


Be first to hear the latest news and developments in Crystallography & Cryo-EM
Follow us on social media by clicking below!
Facebook ‌ Twitter ‌ LinkedIn ‌ Google+ ‌
Learn How Cryocooling Rates Impact Data
NANUQ™ Cryocooling Technology provides reproducible plunge cooling up to 10x faster than hand-plunging techniques. Faster cooling means less time for the nucleation and growth of ice crystals and better data.
Eliminate Variables In Cryocooling
  • Eliminate ice issues
  • Reduce dependency on cryoprotectants
  • Improve crystal diffraction
  • Reduce mosaicity
  • Prevent damage with automated puck filling
Get the info every crystallography lab needs:
All crystallography labs need access to the latest technology. Enable your lab by requesting a free printed catalog of the most advanced tools for crystallization, crystal harvesting and Cryo-EM.
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletters. We appreciate all of our viewers and customers. Together, we continue to push the boundaries of technology in crystallography.

We hope to hear from you soon!
MiTeGen |+1-607-266-8877 |info@mitegen.com