Crystallization with oils: a new dimension in macromolecular crystal growth

Abstract

The crystal growth of biological macromolecules is a complicated process involving numerous parameters. This paper presents an approach which employs the use of oil as a major aid to crystal growth, and which has opened up a new dimension in the field of macromolecular crystallization. The presence of oil is a parameter which can contribute to the accuracy, the cleanliness and to the increase in the reproducibility of the experiments. Furthermore, the oil has a role in the protection of the trials during the course of their duration and in maintaining the stability of the resulting crystals. The use of oil also applies to the crystallization of membrane proteins. The results of a wide range of experiments which exploit the presence of oil to abet macromolecular crystal growth using both vapour diffusion and microbatch are presented.