Abstract
Crystals of the monoclinic form of lysozyme (space group P21 with a=28.00Å, b=62.88Å, c=60.30Å, β=90.68°) were grown under microgravity conditions on the Mir station and brought back to earth on the US Space Shuttle. Counter-diffusion methods developed specifically for application in microgravity have been utilized to produce several examples of macroscopic crystals. Large crystals are of great importance for neutron diffraction studies of bio-macromolecules, which can reveal key details of the hydrogen atom structure of biological molecules at medium resolution. The structure of the monoclinic crystal form described here has been determined to 2.1Å by neutron diffraction and contains two molecules in the asymmetric unit. Details of the structure and refinement are presented.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 317-325 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Crystal Growth |
| Volume | 232 |
| Issue number | 1-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We are grateful to Drs. B.P. Schoenborn and N. Niimura for helpful discussions, and to Dr. G.M. Sheldrick for explaining details of his program SHELXL97. Dr. F. Rueker is acknowledged for providing kind assistance in transporting the crystals to Europe for analysis. Thanks also due to I.L.L. for providing generous access to their LADI facilities. This research was supported under contract through the Microgravity Science and Applications Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, contract number NAS8-97247.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Microgravity Science and Applications Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NAS8-97247 |
Keywords
- A1. microgravity conditions
- A1. neutron diffraction
- B1. monoclinic lysozyme crystal