Investigation on protein crystal nucleation in pores and crevices
What is it about?
The paper describes a promising way for evoking growth of protein crystals.
Why is it important?
Because proteins are the most common targets for drug development, detailed understanding of protein structure is essential for rational design of therapeutic treatments. Currently, X-ray crystallography accounts for 89% of structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank and continues to provide significantly higher resolution than other techniques. However, the availability of suitable 3D protein crystals is a fundamental bottleneck. To access the huge numbers of unsolved protein structures, there is an urgent need for new techniques and materials that can generate crystals across a wide range of proteins. Because the formation of suitable protein crystals is critically determined by the initial nucleation, a promising way for evoking protein crystal growth is to use porous materials. Applying a theoretical method which employs equilibration between the cohesive and the destructive energies of a crystal, it is shown that to get 3D crystals it is vital to have 2D crystals nucleating in a pore first. Experimental studies, stimulated from the theoretical considerations, widen the palette of porous materials which can promote protein crystallization.