Macromolecular x-ray crystallography is a means of determining the 3-dimensional structure of a macromolecule from the systematic scattering of x-rays by a crystal made of that macromolecule. Bio-macromolecules include protein, DNA, RNA, and combinations of the three. The process of x-ray crystallography requires X-rays that are generated via electron acceleration towards a copper anode which excites copper atoms to a higher energy state and which emit x-rays when returning to their ground state. The crystal is positioned in the x-ray beam and diffracted x-rays are detected using an image plate detector. Data analysis and processing followed by modeling of the data yield the 3-dimensional structure. The 3-dimensional structure of the macromolecule is used to study the details of the relationship between the structure of the biological macromolecule and its function. Additionally, the 3-dimensional models of macromolecules are used in the intelligent design of pharmaceuticals and pesticides as well as to understand the nature of metabolic diseases.

Facilities:

X-ray Generators:

Rigaku RuH2R rotating anode x-ray generator (Copper, 1.54 Å) with Osmic Confocal X-ray Optics, Rayonix/MAR MAR345 image plate detector and Oxford Instruments Cryojet.

GEC Avionics (Elliot X-ray) GX-13 rotating anode x-ray generator (Copper, 1.54 A) with Osmic Confocal X-ray Optics, Rayonix/MAR MAR345 image plate detector and Oxford Instruments Cryojet.

Detector Control and Data Acquisition:

Shutter control, cryojet control, and detector control from control room. Dell Core 2 Duo computers with 350GB hard drive and dual monitors. Data reduction with HKL or MOSFLM.

Rigaku RuH2R	GEC Avionics GX-13

Sample Preparation:

Sample preparation area in control room (Polk 04).

Growth Chamber:

Two walk-in crystal growth chamber with vibration damping cradles for crystal tray storage, one at 18° C, the other at 4° C.

Computer Lab:

Consists of 9 Linux workstations for solving crystal structures and structural analysis. Model building with COOT and optimization with CNS or CCP4.

Remote Crystal Data Collection - Collecting diffraction data from SER-CAT via robotic control from NCSU. (NCSU is a member of SER-CAT - Southeast Regional Collaborative Access Team, APS, ANL, http://www.ser-cat.org/index.html)