by Peter Nollert
December 18, 2009 03:47
This is somewhat of a response to an issue brought up by Sean over at p212121. He left a remark, saying that there is only little to find in the technical literature discussing the practical side 'if this doesn't work, try this'. Having thought about it for a while, I think that the literature may not be the best place to look for such information.
Nevertheless, there's some 'tips-and-tricks'-type guidance on the topic of protein crystallization and crystallography as a whole. Protein crystallization in particular is a moving target since technologies develop and bottlenecks have shifted over time. Also, I've noticed that there's been a gradual shift in some publications picking up more of the detailed nitty-gritty. My all-time favorite of such publications is the "Methods in Enzymology" series that are a treasure troves when it comes to detailed methods descriptions. Thanks to Google you may find the relevant sections online for those that don't have online or library access to these books.
I also found the "Current Topics in...." series useful and the recently started journal "Nature Methods". See for instance Naomi's review on protein crystallization (rocks!).
I have been glad to see several - freely available - online supplemental sections in both Science and Nature magazines, giving detailed experimental background that was inaccessible or hidden in more obscure journals years ago.
Really, the best source of info for your particular protein crystallization case may come out of a discussion with a collegue and be more appropriately discussed at a scientific conference, over a beer (or both).
A month in the lab can save you a quick trip to the library.
Cheers,
Peter