Development of iCrystal System for Rapid Crystallization of Biological Macromolecules

Juxtopia, Llc, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Biological macromolecules are the machinery of life and understanding their function helps scientists to develop new drug treatments that target specific human diseases. In this regard, crystallization is routinely employed for the understanding of the molecular structures and the interactions of proteins with other biological and non-biological materials. Despite the existence of a plethora of crystallization techniques, there is still a need for a technique that affords for better control over the crystallization procss, in terms of producing high-quality crystals of peptides and proteins in a significantly shorter tim scale. In this STTR Phase I proposal, we will construct a prototype crystallization instrument based on the metal-assisted and microwave-assisted evaporative crystallization (MA-MAEC) technique for the rapid crystallization of peptides and proteins in minutes or hours (total crystallization time), which typically can take up to several weeks to complete using conventional crystallization techniques. In this regard, we have chosen Amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its components as biological macromolecules of interest. APP is most commonly studied as the precursor molecule whose proteolysis generates beta amyloid (Aß42) peptide whose amyloid fibrillar form is the primary component of amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients.