Cryo bio-crystallography

Cryo bio-crystallography is the application of crystallography to biological macromolecules at cryogenic temperatures.

Basic principles

Cryo crystallography enables X-ray data collection at cryogenic temperatures, typically 100K.

  • Crystals are transferred from the solution they have grown in (called mother liquor) to a solution with a cryo-protectant to prevent ice formation.
  • Crystals are mounted with a glass fiber (as opposed to a capillary)
  • Crystals are cooled by dipping directly into liquid nitrogen and then placed in a cryo cold stream.
  • Cryo cooled macromolecular crystals show reduced radiation damage by more than 70 times that at room temperature.

Advantages
  • Significant improvement of resolution in data collection
  • Reduced or eliminated radiation damage in crystals

Usefulness and applications

Crystallography of large biological macromolecules can be achieved while maintaining their solution state. The most known example is the ribosome.[1]

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References
  1. Hope H (1988). "Cryocrystallography of biological macromolecules: a generally applicable method". Acta Crystallogr. B. 44 (1): 22–26. doi:10.1107/s0108768187008632. PMID 3271102.

See also
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