MPCD: a new interactive on-line crystallization data bank for screening strategies.

The Marseille Protein Crystallization Database (MPCD) is a new crystallization database, freely accessible via http://www.crmcn.univ-mrs.fr/mpcd/, populated with information found in the BMCD and CYCLOP. This new online database includes details about macromolecules (such as name, pI, molecular weight, number of subunits), crystallization conditions, methods and additives used in an easy-to-compare table form. It allows users to choose their own crystallization parameters, to create tables for further analysis and also to enter new proteins and crystallization conditions in order to supplement this database. As an essential tool in structural biology, this crystallization database will be highly relevant to crystal growers, when connected to the Protein Data Bank, for the crystallogenesis of a variety of structurally distinct molecules and assemblies, and to macromolecular and biomaterial researchers designing structures.