Acquisition of an automated protein crystallization imager

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposal requests funds to purchase a Formulatrix Rock Imager® 1000 automated crystal tray imager with 500-tray capacity and dual light path capable of both visible light, ultraviolet (UV) and multi-fluorescence imaging. The new imager will make it possible to monitor trays for crystal growth, capture images and log trays in high throughput. This instrument will greatly enhance efforts to crystallize and determine structures of biological macromolecules of high biological importance and will accelerate progress in drug discovery and immunotherapy. The imager will be housed in a Macromolecular Crystallography core in the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemisry in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, which also houses a Mosquito® LCP liquid handler for setting up crystallization trials in high throughout. The visible and UV l multi- fluorescence imaging capabilities of the Rock Imager will enhance users’ ability to locate very small crystals in precipitates and lipidic cubic phase, as well as distinguish protein crystals from salt. The Rock Imager will greatly benefit the research of six Major and five Minor users, all of whom have experience with crystallization and x-ray crystal structure determination. The user group includes leading structural biologists as well as investigators who utilize structural studies as a component of their research programs. The crystal imager will greatly accelerate progress in multiple projects that are currently supported by 16 NIH grants, and include studies of biological macromolecules involved in transcription regulation, DNA replication, DNA repair, oncogenesis, and the inflammatory response, as well as translational studies that utilize structure-guided design of novel immunotherapeutics. The long-term support of the imager and Macromolecular Crystallography core will be ensured by the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, which has managed and subsidized this structural biology resource for more than three decades.