Beauty to Rival Swarovski

Greiner Bio-One GmbH has developed a new platform for the production and analysis of protein crystals. CrystalSlide for counter diffusion applications enables crystals to be analysed in an Xray source and is also suitable for applications with polarised and UV light.

A key prerequisite for targeted drug development is knowing the three-dimensional structure of proteins. In order for this to be possible, however, the proteins must be available in the form of high-quality pure crystals. Producing and analysing these is very timeconsuming and thus expensive.

Greiner Bio-One GmbH has now developed a new platform for counter diffusion applications – that is to say for the production of protein crystals in a concentration gradient – in a handy slide format. CrystalSlide has twelve
microstructured channels. The design has been optimised to ensure that the inlets are suitable for manual filling using a pipette and the slides can be used in automated systems – in conjunction with a frame in standard microplate format.

The benefits of CrystalSlide are not limited to the production of protein crystals. In addition to enabling its valuable contents to be analysed under any conventional microscope, CrystalSlide is also suitable for all commonly used automated imaging systems. At just 0.6 millimetres thickness, the polyolefin slides combine excellent optical characteristics with low birefringence and are permeable to UV light and X-rays for in-situ analysis of protein crystals. The low sample volume required – just 600 nl – also helps cut the cost of protein crystallisation processes significantly. CrystalSlide™ is part of Greiner Bio-One GmbH’s CrystalStar™ family, which includes a number of protein crystallisation platforms and associated accessories.