Instrumentation
- The home source is composed of a Rigaku Micromax 007 high frequency microfocus X-ray generator, a VariMax high flux optic with adjustable divergence, an AFC11 4-axis goniometer, a Pilatus 200K 2D area detector, and an Oxford Cobra cryo-system. HKL-3000R is used for data collection and processing and is run on a Linux CentOS Dell Precision Workstation.
- Crystallization Robotics include: Alchemist liquid handling robot for optimization screen production, a Phoenix drop setting robot, 2 Desktop Minstrel imaging units, and a plate hotel that are all networked and integrated with Crystal trak software, and an SPT Labtech Mosquito Xtal-3 drop setting robot with humidifying chamber.
Faculty provide consultation to CU Cancer Center members and other investigators on the appropriate design of experiments for structural analysis. For example, faculty provide training and advice to PIs, post-doc, and student researchers, in the techniques of sample preparation, data collection, data processing, and data interpretation.
The Structural Biology Shared Resource trains users to set up initial screens of crystallization conditions using commercially available and custom designed sparse matrix screens, both manually and with the crystallization robotics systems. Shared Resource faculty members aid users in analyzing the results of these initial screens and provide guidance in designing or extending the screens to produce crystals for X-ray diffraction studies.
Users are trained and aided in initial data collection on crystals in order to evaluate project viability. These services provide investigators with further direction to improve crystal quality with the goal of a complete structure determination. If high quality crystals are obtained, complete data sets are collected that may be used for structure determination.
Structure determination of macromolecules may be performed in collaboration with Shared Resource faculty. The core staff trains users in data collection and data processing and aids investigators in solving and refining structures.
SBSR staff provide training and consultation in the use of molecular graphics programs to display and analyze molecular structures.
Available Software
- HKL-2000: Data processing
- XDS: Data processing
- iMosflm: Data processing
- CrysAlisPro: Data processing
- d*trek: Data processing
- HKL-3000: Data processing and Structure Solution/Refinement
- Phenix: Everything in crystallography
- CCP4: Everything in crystallography
- Shelx: Structural determination and refinement for small molecule. Also useful in finding heavy atom positions as well as refinement of high-resolution protein structures.
- Coot: model building