Growth of protein crystals in hydrogels prevents osmotic shock
Sugiyama, S., Maruyama, M., Sazaki, G., Hirose, M., Adachi, H., Takano, K., Murakami, S., Inoue, T., Mori, Y., Matsumura, H.(2012) J Am Chem Soc 134: 5786-5789
- PubMed: 22435400 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/ja301584y
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
5AVD, 5AVG, 5AVH, 5AVN - PubMed Abstract: 
High-throughput protein X-ray crystallography offers a significant opportunity to facilitate drug discovery. The most reliable approach is to determine the three-dimensional structure of the protein-ligand complex by soaking the ligand in apo crystals. However, protein apo crystals produced by conventional crystallization in a solution are fatally damaged by osmotic shock during soaking. To overcome this difficulty, we present a novel technique for growing protein crystals in a high-concentration hydrogel that is completely gellified and exhibits high strength. This technique allowed us essentially to increase the mechanical stability of the crystals, preventing serious damage to the crystals caused by osmotic shock. Thus, this method may accelerate structure-based drug discoveries.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. sugiyama@chem.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp