Protein crystal growth in microgravity

A Microfluidic, High Throughput Protein Crystal Growth Method for Microgravity

The attenuation of sedimentation and convection in microgravity can sometimes decrease irregularities formed during macromolecular crystal growth. Current terrestrial protein crystal growth (PCG) capabilities are very different than those used during the Shuttle era and that are currently on the International Space Station (ISS). The focus of this experiment was to demonstrate the use of a comm...

High-Quality Protein Crystal Growth of Mouse Lipocalin-Type Prostaglandin D Synthase in Microgravity

Lipocalin-type prostaglandin (PG) D synthase (L-PGDS) catalyzes the isomerization of PGH(2) to PGD(2) and is involved in the regulation of pain and of nonrapid eye movement sleep and the differentiation of male genital organs and adipocytes, etc. L-PGDS is secreted into various body fluids and binds various lipophilic compounds with high affinities, acting also as an extracellular transporter. ...

Numerical model of protein crystal growth in a diffusive field such as the microgravity environment

It is said that the microgravity environment positively affects the quality of protein crystal growth. The formation of a protein depletion zone and an impurity depletion zone due to the suppression of convection flow were thought to be the major reasons. In microgravity, the incorporation of molecules into a crystal largely depends on diffusive transport, so the incorporated molecules will be ...

Effect of Spaceship Orbital Transfer on Solution Convection during Protein Crystal Growth under Microgravity

Detailed numerical analysis is presented for the effect of spaceship orbital transfer on solution convection during protein crystal growth under microgravity. The results show that the flow and mass transfer during protein crystal growth are unsteady in the process of orbital transfer. For the case of quasi-steady acceleration, the flow is so weak that the effect of flow on concentration field ...

Protein Crystal Growth