Kudos to Acta Cryst. F! Acta Cryst F has announced last year that "Tips and Tricks for Structural Biologists" can be published as stand-alone, regular papers under the category "Laboratory Communication".
Finally there is a forum that hosts peer-reviewed crystallization method reports (more in the Editorial ). I can't wait to see highly detailed descriptions of "special methods, equipment modifications, techniques for accomplishing certain tasks etc."
These 'How-to'-type reports should be very useful to all crystallizers practicing the science of protein crystallization. So far there have been several useful reports: one on heavy atom derivatization, two papers on protein crystal UV imaging and one on distinguishing salt vs. protein crystals with a melt test:
T. Beck, C. E. da Cunha and G. M. Sheldrick
How to get the magic triangle and the MAD triangle into your protein crystal
Acta Cryst. (2009). F65, 1068-1070
Synopsis: The handling of the phasing tools I3C and B3C is described, emphasizing practical aspects such as the preparation of solutions and incorporation of the compounds into protein crystals.
K. Dierks, A. Meyer, D. Oberthür, G. Rapp, H. Einspahr and C. Betzel
Efficient UV detection of protein crystals enabled by fluorescence excitation at wavelengths longer than 300 nm
Acta Cryst. (2010). F66, 478-484
Synopsis: Excitation of intrinsic fluorescence at wavelengths longer than 300 nm is effective in the detection of protein crystals in crystallization trials set up in the most commonly used hardware.
H.S. Gill
Evaluating the efficacy of tryptophan fluorescence and absorbance as a selection tool for identifying protein crystals
Acta Cryst. (2010). F66, 364-372
Synopsis: The effectiveness of using ultraviolet microscopes to illuminate protein crystals in high throughput screens is evaluated.
K. Raghunathan, P. T. Harris and D. N. Arvidson
Trial by fire: are the crystals macromolecules?
Acta Cryst. (2010). F66, 615-620
Synopsis: A simple `melt test' to distinguish salt crystals from macromolecule crystals is described.
Protein crystallization tips and tricks announcement taken from the IUCR mag.
Cheers,
Peter