High Throughput Crystallisation
EMBL Hamburg has established a fully automated platform for the high-throughput crystallisation of biological macromolecules in order to address a common bottleneck in x-ray crystallography. The services of this facility are available to the general user community.
Contact
Scientist in charge
Jochen Müller-Dieckmann, Tel: +49 40 89902-201, Email: jochenmd@embl-hamburg.de
Technician
Xandra Kreplin, Tel: +49 40 89902-206, Email: xandra.kreplin@embl-hamburg.de
HT-X Laboratory
Tel: +49 40 89902-210
Products and Services
Crystallisation
Our crystallisation services include the initial screening of biological samples and the preparation of customised follow up experiments (e.g. for optimisation). Initial screens are performed as sitting drop vapour diffusion experiments or as free interface diffusion (FID) experiments in Topaz® chips from Fluidigm.
Follow up experiments with customised crystallisation solutions are offered as sitting drop vapour diffusion experiments in 96-well plates, in Topaz® chips and in 8mm capillaries. The design of customised screens takes few minutes with our PanOpti software which provides full access to our list of stock solutions.
Sample Modification
Reductive methylation can be a powerful method to change the surface properties and crystallisation behaviour of biological samples. We perform small scale tests, including a check of the extent of methylation by MALDI-TOF. The required sample amount is 150μL at 1mg/mL.
Vapour Diffusion Experiments
Vapour diffusion experiments are set up as sitting drops in 96-well plates with volumes between 200nL and 1,500nL. Crystallisation plates can be stored and are automatically imaged at 4°C and 19°C. The inspections of crystallisation plates follow a default schedule which can be customised upon request. All plates are discarded after 24 weeks and images are stored for 8 months. Specific requests via email should be made if users wish to retain their crystallisation plates or receive copies of their images on a DVD. Users have the choice of two different plate types: the Greiner CQ PS or the Innovadyne SD-2.
Required sample amount
In addition to the theoretical sample volume per plate, we need 1-2μL, which remain in the nano-needle as a safety margin. We request another 10μL of extra sample (which are recovered) to prime the nano-needle and to compensate for inevitable pipette inaccuracies. Sample and system water are separated by an air gap, so there is no sample dilution.
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Sample volume per drop
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Sample volume per plate
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Total for x plates (μL)
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200nL
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21μL
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x · 21 + 10
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300nL
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31μL
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x · 31 + 10
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400nL
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41μL
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x · 41 + 10
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500nL
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51μL
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x · 51 + 10
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1000nL
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100μL
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x · 100 + 10
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Free interface diffusion (FID) experiments
FID experiments offer an alternative crystallisation technique and the advantage of very low sample consumption (1.2μL to screen 96 conditions). Users can choose between two different chip types which screen 1 or 4 samples against 96 crystallisation solutions. Experiments are stored at RT and are terminated after 10 days. They are inspected immediately after set up, after 12h, after 24h and every other day thereafter (total of 7 events). This imaging schedule can be customised upon request. Users will receive a hardcopy of their imaged crystallisation experiments together with a viewing software.
Required sample amount
1.2μL for 96 different solutions
Prices
Vapour diffusion experiments:
Initial screening
Academic users: EUR 35,-
Industrial users: EUR 96,-
Customised screening:
| OptiSalt | Free design | |
| Academic users | EUR 50,- | EUR 60,- |
| Industrical users | EUR 120,- | EUR 170,- |
| 1.96 chip (1 sample vs. 96 solutions) | EUR 200,- |
| 4.96 chip (4 samples vs. 96 solutions) | EUR 300,- |
To book the HTP-X facilities please consult the Access to Infrastructures pages.